


Baking Love

by Jinxter



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Baking, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Flirting, Fluff, Frottage, Getting to Know Each Other, Making Out, Unintentional innuendo, bisexual awakening
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:28:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22128736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jinxter/pseuds/Jinxter
Summary: In honour of Start The Wave giving a shout out to Veganuary, I thought I'd dig in and write this story that has been playing on my mind for a little while. Each chapter will be a real recipe I'll link to in the end notes for you to make too, if you want to."This is the easiest cake recipe ever. Guaranteed to not end up as charcoal on the bottom of your oven.""Guaranteed? That's a big call, Miss Earp. I hope you can back that up.""Guaranteed," Waverly nods, surely. "Even Wynonna has made this recipe as a belated birthday cake for me, if you can believe that. It was entirely edible, despite her replacing some of the water with whiskey.""Wow, so it's really idiot-proof," she says with a cheeky grin.Waverly shakes her head with a chuckle, well aware of the teasing banter her older sister has begun to foist upon the young officer. She warms, knowing that it means Wynonna likes her, and she is sure Nicole's comment reflects the same grudging affection. It would be nice for the three of them to get along, if she invites Nicole out to the homestead. For dinner or something. As friends.
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 40
Kudos: 207





	1. The BEST Chocolate Cake Ever...That Happens To Be VEGAN. I Kid You Not!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honour of Start The Wave giving a shout out to Veganuary, I thought I'd dig in and write this story that has been playing on my mind for a little while. Each chapter will cover an actual recipe I've tried and tested, and I will link to it in the notes at the bottom for you to make too, if you want to. (If you do, please let me know what you think in the comments or on twitter - [@griddles83](https://twitter.com/griddles83)!)
> 
> This takes place in a sort of twilight zone between Champ and Waverly breaking up in 1x06 and Nicole getting abducted in 1x07.

Nicole looks at the concave surface of the sad-looking, sticky muffin, a bite taken out of one side reveals a dense, doughy layer in the middle. With a sigh, she dumps it in the trash can, and empties the Tupperware container of half a dozen more of the same in behind it.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what did those muffins ever do to you?"

Nicole looks up, stopped in her tracks by the short brunette who has just busted her and her shameful waste of food. "They betrayed me. Terribly."

Waverly giggles. "Is that right?" She likes the new cop, has a good feeling about her, and relishes the opportunity to speak with her alone in the break room at the Sheriff's station while she boils the kettle for another cup of tea. It has been a long morning of going over all the information she knows with Dolls in the Black Badge office, with an unsatisfying lack of reciprocation.

"Yes. I followed the recipe exactly and still they turned out awful."

"Oh, _you_ baked them?"

"I am loathe to admit it, but yeah. I brought them in to share but they're a crime against tastebuds." Nicole slumps down at the table with another sigh and peels a banana instead. 

"I'm sure they weren't that bad," Waverly offers, her face scrunching up adorably as she attempts to console her.

"Oh, they were. Trust me." Nicole sighs. "This is the first time I've lived in like an actual house as an adult, not some tiny apartment with a toaster oven and a single hotplate. I thought I'd finally get a chance to bake like I always wanted to, but I just can't get it right."

"Practice makes perfect," Waverly says with an encouraging little fist pump, "you'll get the hang of it."

"The first cake I made bubbled over and I had to spend two hours scraping its charcoal carcass off the bottom of the oven."

Waverly laughs. "Oh that's awful, I'm sorry. But the muffins looked better than that, at least, so you must be improving."

Nicole chuckles. "You really know how to look on the bright side, don't you. Here's me just thinking I might as well give up and buy donuts like everyone else."

"It's one of my many strengths, along with baking. I could help you, if you like? To learn?"

The idea of spending time with Waverly is appealing, but the thought of her bearing witness to the disaster that Nicole is in the kitchen gives her pause. "I really think I'm a lost cause."

"Pfft, no such thing! I'd be happy to teach you a few tricks," Waverly says, pouring boiling water over the teabag in her cup.

Nicole cocks her head, wondering if it would really be so bad for Waverly to see her out of her element. "You'd really do that?"

"Sure," Waverly says, beaming. "I love baking, and it'd be good to get to know you better. I keep seeing you around but we haven't really had a chance to talk properly all that much yet. I love making new friends."

"Friends," Nicole says with a tight smile, "yeah, that'd be nice. Well, I have the day off tomorrow, how does that work for you?"

"Great! It's a date."

\-----

After messaging back and forth that morning, Nicole had confirmed she had all the ingredients for the recipe Waverly had proposed, except for margarine, at which point she learned Waverly is vegan so butter wouldn't do. Insisting she didn't need to go out to buy one ingredient, Waverly brought some from home in a small container, which she happily held out to Nicole when she answered the door so that she could take her coat off.

"Thank you," Nicole says, taking the container and closing the door behind the shorter woman. She watches Waverly remove her coat and scarf and hang them on the coat stand next to her uniform jacket, her Stetson sitting proudly on top.

"Don't thank me yet, thank me when you're eating yummy chocolate cake in a few hours!"

Nicole leads the way into the kitchen where she has all the ingredients laid out on the table, alongside a mixing bowl, silicone scraper, some measuring cups and spoons, and a large cake tin.

"Ooh, someone's organised," Waverly grins.

"I like to be prepared," Nicole says, blushing slightly. She fiddles with the utensils, moving them out of the mixing bowl and to the table top. "I know the recipe says to mix it all in a dish of some sort but it looked really messy so I figured we could mix it in the bowl and pour it into a cake tin?"

"I do the same thing with this recipe," Waverly says with a laugh. " _great minds think alike_ , as they say. Alright, let's get cracking then. The sooner we get this in the oven, the sooner we can eat it!"

Nicole pulls out her phone and unlocks the screen, switching to the browser window where the recipe is open. Waverly reaches into the back pocket of her tight blue jeans and pulls out a slip of paper, unfolding it, to reveal the recipe. 

"Here, this is easier." She hands the paper to the taller woman. "I always like to have a physical copy of recipes, it makes it harder to miss anything, or misread amounts or instructions, I think. And you can keep it as a memento of our afternoon."

Nicole looks it over, admiring the delicate handwriting. "That makes sense, and thank you." 

"This is the easiest cake recipe ever. Guaranteed to not end up as charcoal on the bottom of your oven."

"Guaranteed? That's a big call, Miss Earp. I hope you can back that up."

"Guaranteed," Waverly nods, surely. "Even Wynonna has made this recipe as a belated birthday cake for me, if you can believe that. It was entirely edible, despite her replacing some of the water with whiskey."

"Wow, so it's really idiot-proof," she says with a cheeky grin.

Waverly shakes her head with a chuckle, well aware of the teasing banter her older sister has begun to foist upon the young officer. She warms, knowing that it means Wynonna likes her, and she is sure Nicole's comment reflects the same grudging affection. It would be nice for the three of them to get along, if she invites Nicole out to the homestead. For dinner or something. As friends. 

She leans down and turns the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and joins Nicole at the table. "Okay, so should I read out the ingredients and you put them in the bowl?"

"Sounds good," Nicole says, handing Waverly the recipe, unbuttoning the cuffs of her shirt, and rolling the sleeves up to her elbows.

Waverly bites her lip and waits, watching for Nicole to be ready. "Okay so we'll start with the dry ingredients first; one and a quarter cups of flour."

Nicole holds up a sieve. "Should I sift it?"

"You can if it's lumpy, but you don't have to."

"Oh, it looks okay, I think. Do you think it looks okay?" 

Waverly peers into the flour bag. "Yep, it looks fine to me."

Nicole measures out the flour and puts it in the bowl, forgoing the sieve, so she has one less thing to clean afterwards. Waverly rolls the top of the bag of flour and moves it to the end of the table, out of the way of the other ingredients.

"One cup of sugar," she moves the bag of sugar too, when Nicole is done with it, "one third of a cup of cocoa."

Nicole looks at her utensils. "I don't have a third of a cup measure, only a quarter and a half."

"That's alright," Waverly says, leaning forward. "One quarter cup is four tablespoons and one third of a cup is five tablespoons plus one teaspoon, so what I do is measure one quarter cup, plus one heaped tablespoon, and that pretty much equals one third."

"Smart! See, what would I do without you?"

Waverly laughs modestly, blushes, and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. "You'd figure it out."

"Eventually, maybe." She finishes measuring in the cocoa. "Okay, so what next?"

"One teaspoon of baking soda."

"One teaspoon of... oh." She looks down at the spoonful of white powder she just tipped into the bowl on top of the cocoa.

Waverly looks up. "'Oh'? What 'oh'?" She peers into the bowl and back up to Nicole, confused, seeing nothing amiss.

Nicole turns around the small container in her hand. "Uhh, this is baking powder. Is that the same as soda?"

"No, but it's still okay, you can use it, just triple the amount."

"Triple?"

"Yeah, three teaspoons."

Nicole laughs. She puts two extra teaspoons of the white powder into the bowl. "I can do maths, they just sound so similar I was just surprised they are so different in... what's the word? Potency?"

"Yeah," Waverly smiles. "I know. You're a smart cookie."

"Don't say cookies, my cookies were an inedible disaster."

"You made cookies too?"

Nicole scrunches up her face. "Kind of? I mean they went in the oven looking like cookies but they spread out and just became one massive, thin, chewy, weirdly kind of sour-tasting cookie?"

Waverly shakes her head and chuckles. "Okay, we'll have to make cookies next time." 

Nicole feels her face fall into a surprised puppy expression at the prospect of their being a next time already, when they'd barely begun this time, but she quickly schools it back as much as she can and reminds herself, _'friends'_. "Cool."

"Half a teaspoon of salt, and that's it for the dry ingredients, so give them a good stir, make sure they're well mixed."

Nicole follows the instruction under Waverly's gaze.

"Now make a dip in the middle so you can pour the wet ingredients into it. One cup of warm water."

"Is tap water okay?"

"Yeah, the water quality is pretty good out here."

"Is it? I've just kept using my filtration jug out of habit. City water is not that nice."

"You could use that if you wanted to, maybe warm some up in the kettle."

Nicole hesitates. "Yeah, okay. Do you want a cup of tea or something while I'm at it?"

"Sure," Waverly says, placing the recipe down on the table while they take a short break.

Nicole points to a small basket on the counter and fills the kettle from the jug of water, which she then refills from the tap. "I have a few different flavours, if you'd like to choose which one you want."

Waverly digs through the small selection. "Ooh, you have licorice!"

"You can have all of those if you want, I don't like them."

"They take a little getting used to but they're so good!" Waverly tears the small paper pouch and inhales the sweet, pungent aroma.

Nicole laughs, "I'll take your word for it."

"Can I get you one of these too? Or, well, not licorice, I suppose. One of these other ones?"

"Are there any peppermint and ginger ones left?"

Waverly rummages around among the packets for a few seconds. "Yep, found one."

Nicole has already put two mugs on the counter, so Waverly drops the bags into them, looping the string around the handle so it doesn't fall in when the water is poured.

"So this is your first house of your very own?" Waverly leans back against the counter as they wait for the kettle to boil. "How does it feel?"

Nicole copies Waverly's position and looks through the open plan area into the living room, specially tidied for the occasion, with it's simple but homey furniture. "It's great. It's... spacious." She looks at Waverly. "It kinda feels a bit big for just me by myself, sometimes, I suppose."

"Yeah, I get that. I don't really like having a whole house to myself either."

"Don't you live with Wynonna?"

Waverly nods. "I do, yeah. When she decides to spend the night at home, anyway. I don't mind, I mean, I'm just glad she's home. And before that I had my own apartment above Shorty's. Well, when Champ wasn't there. That was fine, though, and actually it was so small it felt a bit cramped when he was there. But it does feel different being alone in a big house."

"Yeah, uh, Wynonna mentioned you and Champ broke up?"

Waverly rolls her eyes playfully. "Of course she did. She probably walked in singing it at the top of her lungs."

"She... did not seem that upset about it, that's true. Sorry."

"It's okay," Waverly says with a shrug, "I know she wasn't his biggest fan. And to be really honest, I wasn't that upset about it either." She pushes off from the counter and turns, moving the mug closer to the kettle as it switches itself off. "I think I always knew the time would come. Now I'm a happily single Virgo with hair for days." She flicks her hair for emphasis, smiling genuinely.

"Well I'm glad to hear that," Nicole says, pouring hot water over the teabags in the two mugs, "that you're not upset, I mean. I'm glad you're doing okay."

"Thanks."

Nicole carries the kettle to the table. "So for warm water do you think I should do about half a cup of boiling and half room temperature?"

"Umm," Waverly thinks for a moment, "Maybe more like a quarter or a third hot and the rest cold?"

Nicole pours some into the measuring jug from the kettle and tops it up from the water jug to a one cup measure.

Waverly picks up the recipe again. "One teaspoon of vanilla extract." She watches Nicole add that to the jug, swishing the teaspoon in the water to make sure it's all in. "One third of a cup of vegetable oil."

With a grin, Nicole picks up the quarter cup measure. "Or should that be one quarter cup, one tablespoon, and one teaspoon."

"You remembered," Waverly says, beaming like a proud mama hen as Nicole uses one measure after another until all the oil is in the jug. "And finally, one teaspoon of vinegar."

Nicole adds it with a flourish, and takes the silicone scraper from the bowl to give the liquids a stir. "Now I just dump it all in the dry mix?"

"Yep, pour it in and stir it up, make sure there are no chunks of flour on the bottom of the bowl." She watches Nicole stir until it's a smooth batter.

"Okay, so the recipe doesn't call for it, but I usually put a little margarine on the cake tin, even when it's a non-stick one. It just makes for easier clean up." She opens the container with the margarine in it, and a small square of baking paper, which she uses to scoop up a small amount and hands it to Nicole. "Just rub it all up in there. Get it nice and lubed," she winks.

Nicole snickers, and says under her breath "I can do that."

When the cake tin is greased, Nicole pours the mixture into it, using the scraper to get all the batter into the tin. Waverly pokes her finger in and swipes a streak of chocolatey goodness, her finger disappearing into her mouth with a satisfied moan. "So good! And without any eggs in it, you can eat it raw without having to worry about getting salmonella."

"That's definitely an up-shot I hadn't considered. I love that. There's nothing I like better than licking the bowl." She straightens up sharply. "Oh, I hear how that sounds. I'm lucky Wynonna isn't here."

Waverly laughs freely. She reaches for her tea and holds it up to blow on it to cool it. "Did you always know you were gay?"

"Uhh, kind of?" Nicole checks the oven has reached temperature and pops the cake in. "I mean, a lot of girls think boys are gross and they'd rather marry their best friends, but I was really sure about it, and I never grew out of it. When my friends started to like boys I kind of hoped it'd change and I would too, so I could be like them, but it didn't so I just pretended instead. I even had a boyfriend in high school, I guess I was hoping I could maybe learn to be normal, so to speak, with a little effort."

"That's sad, that you felt you had to be like everyone else. I love that you're not. Did you have anyone to talk to about it? Your parents?"

Nicole starts to put all the ingredients from the table away into the pantry.

"Oh, leave out the sugar, cocoa, and vanilla. We still need those for the glaze."

"Oh right," Nicole says, putting the sugar back down. Her head pops up as she remembers. "How long does the cake need to be in the oven again?"

Waverly holds up her phone. "Thirty minutes. I set a timer."

"Cool." Nicole puts the last few things away and picks up her tea, tipping her head to indicate Waverly to follow her to the living room. "And to answer your question, no, not really. I didn't talk to my parents about it until I knew for sure, which was when I was in college."

"I wish I'd gone to college. I mean, I did college classes but it was all by distance learning. It seems like actually going to one and living on campus plays a big part in people really figuring out who they are though, away from everything that influenced them growing up."

Nicole tucks her leg up under her and turns to face Waverly a little more at the other end of the sofa. "Yeah, I can understand that. I'm sure in a small town it's even harder to unravel the outside influences from who you are as an individual. I'm really grateful I had the opportunity."

"So was there someone special at your college who helped you come to that conclusion?" Waverly mirrors Nicole's position, tucking her leg up and turning a little.

Nicole grins and bites her lip. "Yeah, kinda. It's so bad though." She groans and covers her eyes.

"Tell me," Waverly crows, reaching forward to gently tug Nicole's arm.

"I was super focussed on my studies and kinda in denial for the first half, but then I developed the biggest crush on one of the professors. I went on a few dates with a couple of girls too, but I couldn't... I was too infatuated with the professor for it to really go anywhere with them, which is such a shame in hindsight."

"All those prime college experimentation years! But hey, I'm sure if any of them had been your soulmate you'd have felt that connection and quickly forgotten about your professor."

"Maybe," Nicole says thoughtfully, "yeah you're probably right."

"Did anything happen with her?"

"My professor? No. No, she was happily married and probably would have lost it if she knew about any professor-student relationships, let alone been in one herself. No, 'unattainable' seems to be my type."

"And did you think moving to Purgatory of all places was going to help you get past that?" Waverly asks mockingly, and Nicole chuckles, shaking her head. "Are there any 'unattainable' women who have caught your eye?"

"Maybe," Nicole says, sipping her tea.

Waverly sips her own tea, watching Nicole fidget a little with the hem of her shirt. "Do you think you'd lose interest if this 'unattainable' woman wasn't as unattainable as you thought? Is it just a 'thrill of the chase' thing?"

Nicole bites her lip, trying to rein in her galloping heart as her brain processes for a moment the possibility of what Waverly might be suggesting. "No, definitely not."

"Hmm," Waverly says, blowing cool air across the top of her mug, "good to know." She casts her eyes around the room. "So did this place come fully furnished or is this all your stuff?"

\-----

They're interrupted from their conversation a while later by the alarm sounding on Waverly's phone. She jumps up. "Ooh, it's cake time!"

She eagerly follows Nicole to the kitchen, where she switches the oven off and opens it.

"Wait a sec," Waverly says, and Nicole closes the oven door again.

"What?"

"Just check it is fully cooked first. Every oven is different, some run hotter or colder than the thermostat is set for. Do you have a skewer?"

"I don't think so."

"A knife will do. Just stick it into the middle of the cake and make sure it doesn't come out with any goop on it."

Nicole digs a knife out of the drawer and pokes it into the cake, and it is clean when she pulls it back out.

"Excellent, it seems to be done, just let it cool in the pan for a few minutes. Do you have a rack?"

"I could make a joke but I know you're talking about the metal grille kind of rack so I'm gonna say no." Waverly chuckles, but Nicole frowns. "Actually I do have this steaming rack thing that came with my slow cooker. Maybe that might work?" She rummages around in one of the cupboards and holds it up, shiny and new.

"Perfect, I like your ingenuity."

"Do we make the glaze now?"

Waverly hums. "Well, we could, but we're supposed to let the cake cool completely first."

"Oh, how long does that take?"

"A while." She frowns. "I could get going if you have things to do, the glaze part of it should be easy enou--"

"No, no! That's not what I mean, sorry, I'm not kicking you out. I'm just, I feel like you're being so generous teaching me how to bake and I'm keeping you from whatever it is you need to be doing."

Waverly rolls her eyes and reaches out to place her hand on Nicole's forearm. "It's fine, there's nowhere else I'd rather be. Or that I need to be. My whole afternoon is free. I am all yours."

Nicole glances down at the point where they connect, then back up to Waverly's eyes. "Cool," she says unintentionally breathily. "Can I make you another cup of tea while we wait, then?"

\-----

They almost forget about the cake, they're so busy chatting, but over an hour passes and the cake is cooled enough that when Nicole finally remembers, Waverly confirms they can definitely start making the glaze.

They resume their earlier roles, with Waverly reading out the ingredients while Nicole stands at the stove, ready to add them to the saucepan.

"Half a cup of sugar." She watches Nicole pour it in. "Four tablespoons of margarine."

"Isn't that a quarter cup?"

"Not just a pretty face, are you! Yes that's correct."

Nicole measures Waverly's margarine into the rinsed quarter cup measure and tips it into the saucepan too, where it immediately begins to soften and melt over the heat. 

"And two tablespoons each of cocoa and soy milk."

Nicole adds the cocoa first, then takes a carton out of the fridge. "I figured almond milk would work, do you think that's okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

"And the vanilla?"

Waverly shakes her head. "Not yet. That only goes in at the end, after we take it off the heat."

"Oh, okay."

"Just keep stirring until it comes to a boil, then we'll turn it down to a simmer for a couple more minutes, then take it off the heat for another five."

Waverly puts the milk and margarine back in the refrigerator, and puts the sugar and cocoa back in the pantry, hoping the empty spot near the flour is where they came from. She returns and lifts herself up to sit on the counter near the stove, crossing her legs at the ankle. 

Nicole smiles at her, still slowly stirring the pot. "This has been really fun, Waverly. Thank you for coming over today."

Waverly blushes. "I'm enjoying myself too, so thanks for having me."

"Anytime."

They grin stupidly for a few moments, watching the heat melt the sugar and bring the ingredients together into a thick, smooth liquid.

When it is time to take the saucepan off the heat, Nicole moves it to the cold burner that is closer to Waverly and continues stirring. "I have to keep stirring it while it cools right?"

"Right."

"It's gone all glossy. It's so pretty."

"Yeah, it looks good."

Nicole hums. "I want to taste it."

"Not yet, you'll burn your tongue!"

"I'm kinda thinking it'd still be worth it though, look at that," she says, tipping the pot towards Waverly for a better view of the thick, chocolatey goodness inside.

"Nooo," Waverly protests, pressing her fingers against Nicole's mouth, half covering it. "Patience, Nicole. It'll be worth the wait. I promise." Nicole stands still and watches her with an amused softness in her eyes and Waverly notices they're the same colour and just as bright and shiny as the rich glaze. She realises a moment later that her fingers are still pressed against soft lips, and pulls them away quickly, a slight warmth rising to her cheeks, but Nicole doesn't seem to mind.

"Okay, I'll wait."

She resumes stirring while Waverly finds a large plate in the cupboard. "How do you want to do this? We can put the cake on the plate and pour the glaze over, and some of the glaze will pool around the sides. Or we can put the rack on top of the plate, pour the glaze over and let the excess drip off, and then transfer it to a clean plate so it'll look nicer."

"Um, well I thought I'd take what's left of it into the station tomorrow, so maybe we should do it so it looks nice? That'll impress them more."

Waverly snorts. "You could take cake in looking like you scraped it off the floor and they'd still be impressed, you know that, right?"

Nicole laughs. "So, straight onto a plate?"

"No, you're right though. It's your first amazing cake baked from scratch, we should make it look amazing so you can take a photo of it." She puts the rack with the cake over the plate, and passes Nicole the vanilla. "Okay, so, add two teaspoons, give it a quick stir, then carefully pour the glaze over the cake." She picks up the knife Nicole had used to skewer the cake earlier. "I'll use this to help spread it evenly as you go."

They stand so close they keep bumping into each other as they move, ending up pressing against each other. Waverly crouches a little to reach under Nicole's pouring arm as Nicole uses the silicone scraper to ensure a steady stream of glaze trickles from the saucepan. The chocolate icing spreads out across the cake, smoothed over the entire surface thanks to Waverly, and some dribbles find their way over the sides and onto the plate below.

Nicole places the now-empty pot into the sink and fills it with water. "Should I put rainbow sprinkles on it like it has in the photos on the website?"

"If you like," Waverly says, making a few finishing touches on the cake's surface.

"Are sprinkles vegan? I didn't even think," Nicole says, leaning back to peer out of the pantry at her guest.

"Some of them are, but not all. Which brand do you have?"

"Umm," Nicole sticks her head back in the cupboard, "Betty Crocker."

"Parlour Perfect Rainbow Sprinkles?"

"Yeah," Nicole nods, emerging with the small container in hand.

"Yep, they are. I have them at home too."

"Cool. What makes some of them not vegan? I always kind of just figured they were just, like, coloured sugar."

"Sometimes they have gelatin in them, but usually it's the colour or wax. Cochineal and shellac come from bugs."

Nicole looks up at her, horrified. "Excuse me, what now? Bugs?"

Waverly chuckles and nods. "Uh huh. Bugs."

Her lip curls. "I'll never look at sprinkles the same way." 

"You'd be surprised what else is in supposedly 'normal' food."

Nicole holds up her hand in a 'stop' motion. "Don't tell me. I mean, I want to know, but I also don't think I want to know, if that makes sense?" She laughs. "Maybe you can teach me what else to eat without telling me what's wrong with what I'm already eating. Ignorance is bliss, and all that. Baby steps."

Waverly grins. "I get it. Those sprinkles are fine though."

Nicole looks at the small container in her hand. "Yes, right." She pops the cap open and shakes some over the top, and the glaze is still warm enough for them to stick to it.

Next to her, Waverly reaches under the rack and swipes a glob of dripped glaze with her finger, but Nicole catches her wrist before it reaches her mouth.

"Hey, I thought you said we had to wait."

"That was when it was super hot, and also I said you have to wait, not me." Nicole fixes her with a firm glare and Waverly raises an eyebrow. "You do realise I've made this before, right?"

"It doesn't matter," Nicole's grip remains firm as Waverly tries to gently pull her chocolate tipped finger closer to her mouth, "if I have to wait, so do you."

Waverly pokes her bottom lip out in a pout, then a cheeky grin bursts through. She raises an eyebrow and reaches out with her other hand, scooping up another drip. Nicole looks at the open jar of sprinkles in her hand and knows she can't put it down fast enough to stop Waverly's next movement, but the shorter woman doesn't do what she expected and bypass Nicole's grasp, instead she holds her finger out towards her and increases the pressure with her other arm.

_Oh._

As Nicole allows Waverly to pull her hand and Nicole's own still gripping her wrist, closer to her, Waverly moves her other hand closer to Nicole's mouth, at an equal pace. Waverly feels her heart flutter as the sweetness hits her tongue and not one but two fingers are enveloped in warm wetness. Nicole's eyes lock into her own and she wonders if they left the oven on by accident because the entire kitchen feels super warm, and another flush accompanies the fluttering in her chest as she feels Nicole's tongue slide against the pad of her finger as she leans back slightly, allowing Waverly's finger to slip out of her mouth with a soft pop.

The redhead smiles, swallows, and snaps the cap back on the sprinkles with her thumb. "Yum."

Waverly realises she still has her own finger in her mouth as she watches Nicole put the sprinkles away, and quickly removes it, drying it on her jeans.

"Um, should we put the kettle on for another cup of tea? It shouldn't take too long for the glaze to set a bit. I mean, it's probably more like an hour to be fully set but I don't think I can wait that long. Can you?"

"I would wait as long as you told me to," Nicole says, refilling the kettle from the water jug, and the water jug from the tap to let it filter again, "but yeah, if you think sooner rather than later, that's good too."

"Yeah." Waverly reaches for the two side plates Nicole hands her from the cupboard, placing them next to the cake.

Nicole places another large plate next to them. "How do we move it onto the plate without breaking it? Or should I kind of cut it and--" She gestures moving piece by piece.

Waverly opens the drawer and finds a spatula and large knife. She slides them under each side, and with Nicole's help, slides the cake off the rack and onto the plate. She switches the knife to her right hand, ready to cut.

"Wait!" Nicole freezes, the knife hovering in mid-air. "Aren't you going to take a photo?"

"Oh! Right, yeah." Nicole puts down the knife and takes her phone from her pocket. 

Waverly sidles up next to her to look at the screen, then reaches out and twists the plate a little to hide a smudge on the edge. "That's one for your instagram."

"I don't have an instagram account."

"Really? I bet you have some amazing photos from rock climbing, though. Maybe you should start one. You could have a cute username like, umm, HaughtsShots!"

Nicole laughs. "Okay, but I'm going to need a selfie of us eating it too, you know, to prove it tastes good and doesn't just look it."

"Absolutely."

Tucking her phone back into her pocket and picking up the knife again, Nicole cuts two generous slices from the cake and moves them carefully to the smaller side plates.

"This looks amazing, Waves. I can't believe I failed so many times when it was so easy." She moves the rack into the sink to be washed and sneakily wipes another drip from the plate that had sat underneath it, Waverly watching surreptitiously as pink lips wrap around the tip of Nicole's long, delicate finger. She discovers a new level of anticipation she's not completely sure is still about the cake, and her cheeks flush.

Waverly swallows and clears her throat. "Baking isn't always so easy. It can be quite a science, and subtle changes from where the recipe is written to wherever everyone is baking it can make a big difference to the outcome. Like, some flour absorbs more liquid than others, and whether it's more densely packed. Sometimes in the most accurate recipes the measurements are all weighed, so instead of a cup of flour you might measure out 120grams because it can vary so much. Things like that. Even the size of measurements can differ, like one US cup is 240mls but one metric cup is 250mls. An Australian tablespoon is 20mls, 5mls bigger than the usual 15ml." 

"All of those sound like really good reasons why my past attempts failed and that it was not at all to do with me just being terrible at this," Nicole grins.

"You did just fine today. A perfect student."

"What can I say, I had an excellent teacher," Nicole says, and follows with a wink.

Waverly grins and swats at her. "Flirt! I know you and your reputation with teachers. I'm onto you, Nicole Haught."

Nicole chuckles and pours their tea. Waverly carries the cakes into the living room and Nicole follows behind. She sits down, and Waverly is sitting much closer to the middle of the couch so she does too, and placing the mugs of tea on the table on either side of the plates of cake.

Waverly excitedly pats and squeezes the redhead's thigh, then lets out a little squeal. "Are you ready for this?"

"I am indeed," Nicole answers with a wide grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recipe link: [The BEST Chocolate Cake Ever...that Happens to Be VEGAN. I Kid You Not!](https://www.instructables.com/id/The-BEST-chococlate-cake-ever...that-happens-to-be/)


	2. My Amazing Banana Muffins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They plan to bake cookies. They don't.

Waverly arrives into town the next morning early enough to have a little free time before her shift is due to start at Shorty's. She could go in anyway, spend extra time tidying and opening up before the regular lunch crowd begin to arrive, or...

She glances at her phone, thinking of the message from her sister earlier that day.

_Good job teaching Haught-stuff to bake, babygirl! Chocolate cake: the breakfast of champions._

Her eyes drift up the street towards the sheriff's station. Or.

She pokes her head around into the bullpen, where Nicole is the only officer, sitting with impeccable posture at the main counter.

"Well hello there," she says, looking up with a big smile.

"Hi," Waverly replies with a wave and equally large grin. "How are you?"

"All the better for seeing you."

Waverly clicks her tongue and playfully rolls her eyes. "Flirt. So how did the cake go down?" Nicole clamps her lips and raises her eyebrows, and Waverly cringes. "I mean how did everyone like it," she says, the redhead not pulling her hand away as Waverly mock-slaps her wrist.

"You were right, I probably could have tied it behind the cruiser and dragged it all the way here and they'd still have eaten it. Animals, I tell you, I don't even know why we have cutlery," she laughs, recollecting the scene in the break room when the cake was unveiled. "Also, I discovered Lonnie is amusingly terrified of your sister when he's standing in between her and something she wants."

The brunette beams. "I'm so happy for you. I hope you are proud of yourself."

"Yeah, I couldn't have done it without you, though." They grin at each other. "It seems I'm going to have to stock up on ingredients, the cake was gone all of about a minute before I was being harassed about when I'm baking the next one."

"Oh no," Waverly laughs, "you've done it now! You've made a rod for your own back."

"It seems so."

"I guess we'll have to have the 'cookie class' sooner than expected."

"I guess we will."

"When do you want to do it?" Waverly pauses. "Bake them. When do you want to bake them? The cookies."

Nicole chuckles. "I'm working all week so either any evening after work, or any time on Saturday?"

"I'm working until closing tonight and, except for tomorrow, the rest of the week and all day Saturday."

"Busy girl. Tomorrow then?"

"That sounds like a plan. What time do you get off? Finish work, I mean. What time does your shift end?"

"Five."

"Oh, same as me. How about I come here and we can go to the grocery store together first? I can show you which chocolate I use for them, and we can pick up any other ingredients we need."

"Should we grab some dinner in town too? Or I can make something... pasta, maybe?"

"You can make pasta?"

"I cook meals a lot better than I bake," Nicole grins.

"Well I'd like to see that. Let's have pasta."

"Awesome."

\-----

Nicole ends up stuck at work for an extra ten minutes finalising a late traffic report. She apologises profusely, but Waverly reassures her she doesn't mind, and she sits on the table nearby watching the redhead type, her long, slender fingers hurriedly tapping away at the keyboard.

She eventually sighs and switches the screen off. "Done!" 

Waverly slides off the table and adjusts her skirt.

The grocery store is fairly quiet, their only fellow patrons are a few workers picking up items for dinner before closing. Nicole can't get used to how early stores close out here and has had to learn to schedule in her grocery shops on her day off to ensure she doesn't run out of anything mid-week.

They pick up a tin of chickpeas, as well as some kidney beans for dinner, a bag of rolled oats, brown sugar since the small country store didn't stock coconut sugar, and they head to the confectionery aisle for the chocolate. 

Waverly stops short. "No no no no no." She reaches for an empty display box on the shelf, pulls it out and peers in to check if there is another full one behind it. "They're all out of the only vegan chocolate they stock."

"Maybe they have more out the back?"

"Hopefully."

Nicole follows Waverly up to the register and they wait for her to finish serving a customer.

"Hi, Moira," Waverly says when she has the clerk's attention. "Do you know if you have any more of these out the back?" She holds up the empty box.

Moira grimaces. "Sorry, love, we don't. We ordered more but the supplier was out of stock at the last delivery so it went on backorder. Hopefully it should be in one of these days."

Waverly's whole demeanour seems to sag. "Okay, thanks Moira." She hands her the empty box and the pair wander back into the store.

"I suppose we'll just get regular chocolate chips. I don't need to help you with the taste-test part."

Nicole shakes her head. "No, I don't want to do that. You definitely deserve to taste-test them with me. We could make something else. Do you know any recipes to use up bananas? I bought too many last week and some got a little overripe." Waverly looks up at her. "Although there probably aren't many cookies that use bananas. You don't really hear of banana cookies, but they sound pretty good, actually."

"There are some recipes that use banana as a binder, but what about muffins? I know that we said we'd do cookies this time, but..."

"You saw my last muffins, I desperately need your help with them too."

A wide grin spreads across Waverly's face. "Great, we'll make my amazing banana muffins then! I'm kind of famous for them around here."

"Really? Just when I think I know exactly why everyone loves you, you show me another reason."

Waverly play shoves Nicole in the arm. "Stop it, you!" She looks into their shared basket, assessing their haul. "Okay, so I think we already have all we need."

\-----

Nicole switches the blender on and watches the dry oats whirl for a second before banking up against the sides of the jug while the blades spin in air. She sighs, switches it off and removes the jug to shake the contents back into the middle. "Is it supposed to be this difficult to make oat flour?"

"Some blenders are better at it than others. Food processors are often better with dry things but in my experience the end result is not as fine." She peers around Nicole to take a look at the progress as Nicole sits the jug back on the base again. "You could try pulsing, or moving the speed up and down to see if that keeps it moving."

She returns to switching the oven on to pre-heat and getting the rest of the ingredients ready, and Nicole tries the suggestions. After stopping only twice more to shake the jug, she has achieved a fairly fine looking oat flour. "Success!"

"Nice," Waverly says with a smile, "alright, time to get your mash on. We need one and a half bananas."

Nicole moves the blender jug to the table with the other ingredients and peels the two bananas, dropping one straight into the bowl and breaking the other into two and dropping only half in. She holds the other half out. "Snack?"

Waverly leans forward and takes a bite out of it, while Nicole watches how close the other woman's lips get to her fingers and remembers Waverly's fingers pressed against her lips just days ago. She licks her lips and pops the remaining banana into her own mouth, then rinses her fingers. She picks up a fork and mashes the bananas in the bowl until all the chunks are gone and it is a glossy yellow. 

Beside her, Waverly has already measured the almond milk, oil, and maple syrup into the measuring jug, which she slides toward the redhead. "Now pour as much of the banana into the jug as you can, it doesn't matter if there's still some in the bowl." Nicole does so. "And now measure the dry ingredients into the bowl." They measure out three quarters of a cup of the oat flour, leaving just a little left over from the cup she had blended, baking powder, and salt. "I usually use a quarter teaspoon each of baking powder and baking soda, but we can use a teaspoon of baking powder instead."

"Maybe I should buy some baking soda, that's two recipes so far I've needed it for."

"If you like. It's also a good natural cleaner, as well, if you mix it into a paste with water."

"Good to know."

"Now pour the liquids back into the bowl and stir, but only until they're just barely combined. You don't want to over-mix a muffin batter."

"And this is why I need you," Nicole says with a smile and a nudge of her elbow. She does as instructed, tipping the bowl and raising an eyebrow at Waverly when she thinks she might have stirred it enough, and Waverly nods. 

"Yep, just to one scoop around underneath with the spatula to make sure there aren't any pockets of flour then it should be good."

Waverly uses the little extra melted coconut oil to grease half the muffin tin, and Nicole spoons the mixture into each one, topping up the lesser-filled ones here and there when she has filled all six of the greased cups, and she silently wishes she'd not had one of the bananas with her breakfast so they could have doubled the recipe for a full batch of 12. She glances down at the note Waverly had quickly written out from memory, just listing the ingredients and amounts so she could note the amounts halved from her usual batch size to ensure she didn't get any of the quantities wrong, and notices something.

"Six walnuts?"

"Oh yeah!" Waverly says. "Sorry, I usually just put some on top. Do you have any?"

"I think there's some in my trail mix," Nicole says, reaching for a container. She opens it and picks out a few of the nuts, handing them to Waverly to poke into the soft batter. "Perfect."

They have to wait a moment as the oven is still coming up to temperature, so Nicole busies herself putting away the ingredients, and pulling out what she needs to make their dinner before putting the muffins in to bake. 

"Can I help with anything?"

Nicole shakes her head. "Nope, it's fine." She watches Waverly fidget a little awkwardly. "You can supervise?"

With a grin, Waverly does as she did before and sits herself up on the counter, near where Nicole is working, and enjoys being closer to eye level with the taller woman while they chat.

Ingredients all laid out, a large saucepan of water heating on the element, and another warming a little oil, Nicole starts chopping the onion. She transfers the first chopped half into the oiled pan and gives it a stir before the vapours have too much of an effect, but when she begins to chop the second half she finds herself pausing to scrunch her eyes shut. 

"Oh no," Waverly says.

"I'll be okay in a sec," Nicole assures her, looking up and trying to blink away the tears in her eyes. One escapes and she turns her head to wipe her cheek on her shoulder, only for both eyes to well up again. "Ugh, I hate chopping onions."

"Aww," Waverly chuckles, "come here."

Nicole, eyes still scrunched closed, takes a step along the counter towards her, then another, until she feels Waverly's palms on her cheeks and her thumbs wiping away the moisture under her eyes. She opens them to look at the younger woman, still blinking through the stinging pain in her eyeballs, but her fluttering heart renders her unable to stop looking into Waverly's gentle, hazel eyes. That is until the brunette licks her lips, and she glances down in time to catch the pink tip of her tongue appear, then disappear again. She feels herself lick her own lips instinctively, then quickly glances back up worriedly to see if Waverly noticed, which she did, if the darkness of her pupils were anything to go by.

The timer on the oven rings loudly, and with one final swipe with her thumbs to clear the last tear streaks, Waverly takes her hands away. She lets Nicole check the muffins are cooked through by poking one with a knife, then remove them from the oven and sitting the tin directly on the makeshift cooling rack. "God, they smell so good," she says, breathing in the delicious, sweet scent. She switches the oven off and returns to chopping the remaining onion, moving on to the garlic straight afterwards, under Waverly's quiet, watchful eye.

The pasta goes in to cook once the water is boiling, the tomatoes in the saucepan once the onions have softened. Dried herbs and spices follow, and Nicole gets to mashing the kidney beans in a small bowl.

Waverly continues to watch, finding the silence doesn't feel particularly awkward, or that it needs to be filled. There's a comfort in the officer's company that she didn't expect to find, at least not so early in their relationship. Friendship! Friendship, she reminds herself. But her mind drifts back to the intensity of their shared moment just minutes before, and her breathing feels irregular again, like she's forgotten how to do it automatically. She realises she's watching Nicole's forearms flex as she mashes the beans and she feels a warmth in her belly she hasn't felt for a while. And not for a woman, ever.

She slides herself off the counter and picks up the wooden spoon, stirring the tomato mixture, seeking distraction from the thoughts and feelings bubbling up.

Nicole looks up at the movement and smiles. "Thanks."

Waverly just smiles back, not trusting her voice at that moment.

The beans go in and Nicole lets Waverly continue stirring it while she tastes it and adds a little more salt and pepper. She plucks some basil leaves off the small plant sitting on her kitchen windowsill and rinses them, chopping most of them and adding them to the sauce. Scooping out a piece of pasta, she blows on it then pops it in her mouth to test it's readiness. "Almost," she says to a watching Waverly.

"Thank you so much for making me dinner," the brunette says, "it smells amazing."

Nicole grins. "Don't thank me yet, you haven't tasted it."

A frown crinkles Waverly's forehead adorably. "Should I be concerned? You said you could cook."

"Nah, it's alright," Nicole laughs, "it isn't bad."

"That sounds like a Wynonna-level low-bar to meet."

Nicole pauses. "I feel like I should be mildly insulted by the comparison?"

Waverly giggles. "Perhaps that was a little harsh, yeah. But 'not bad' or otherwise, I still appreciate not having to cook tonight, so the thanks still stands."

"Well, it is my pleasure, and the thanks is all for you for teaching me again how to bake. Do you want to eat in here or on the sofa?"

Usually Waverly prefers to sit at a table to eat, a long time habit of eating with Gus, she supposes, but the thought of sitting across from Nicole, with no escape from looking directly into her big brown eyes and beautiful smile, her heart beats faster. "Living room?"

"Sure," Nicole agrees, hands her a plate of pasta and sauce, and leads the way. She sits down on one end of the sofa, a long leg tucked up underneath her. 

Waverly sits at the other end and looks at her food. It looks delicious. It smells delicious. With the protein and fibre of the beans, not just a plain tomato sauce and pasta, it will be a filling meal too.

She turns a forkful over, fresh steam rising from the exposed pasta underneath and blows on it to cool it. "Is this a recipe you've made before?"

Nicole tilts her head back and forth and pauses a moment to finish chewing and swallowing. "Kind of. The sauce is kind of a go-to meal for me, but I usually make it with minced meat. I googled to get some ideas how I could I could make it vegan for you. I figured they probably wouldn't seel any of the mock meats at the store here, and I didn't even know if you'd like something that tasted meaty, so I looked for some similar vegan sauce recipes and found some that used mashed beans. So I made my usual sauce but with that one change." She picks up another forkful. "I like it. I might make it this way more often, actually."

Waverly smiles, touched by the other woman's thoughtfulness and effort, and stabs some pasta with her own fork, swiping it through the sauce to get a little extra on it. She puts it in her mouth and savours the tomatoey, garlicky, herby goodness. "Mmmm, Nicole! This is so good! If you let me know when you are making it this way again I'll definitely invite myself over," Waverly laughs.

Nicole glows with the praise. "I'm glad you like it, and I'll make it for you whenever you want, Waves."

They happily chat while they finish the rest of their meals, conversation flowing easily again, and Waverly ends up stretching her legs out across the sofa, her socked feet almost reaching Nicole's thigh when she sits back down from taking their plates to the kitchen. She has another small plate in her hand with two muffins on it.

"You have one," Waverly says, leaning back against the arm of the sofa and stretching, rubbing her tummy, "I am so full right now I'm going to need a minute."

"Me too," Nicole chuckles and breaks a piece off a small piece of one of the muffins, "but I can't wait." She leans forward and places the plate on the coffee table, and pops the broken-off piece into her mouth. She closes her eyes and a little moan escapes. "Oh my god," I can see why you're kinda famous for them." She reaches out and wraps her hand around Waverly's sock, gently wiggling her foot. "Really yummy."

Waverly grins and scooches down in the seat, stretching her legs out further until they just rest on Nicole's thigh. Nicole raises an eyebrow, lips still quirked up in a smile, and brings her other hand around to rub both of Waverly's feet in earnest, shifting herself a little closer so her feet are on her lap. Waverly didn't realise how good it feels to have a foot massage after standing on them all day at Shorty's, no one has ever rubbed them before. Her eyes drift shut and a moan escapes her. She covers her mouth, "sorry, that just feels really good."

"Good," is all Nicole replies, and she keeps massaging.

After a little while, Waverly opens her eyes and lifts herself up a little on her elbows. "Does Wynonna know you're gay?"

"Yeah, I--" Nicole pauses, then frowns. "I mean I assume she does but I can't remember actually saying anything."

"You assume she does, though? Why, are you flirty with her too?"

"Now, now. I don't flirt with every girl I meet," Nicole says, smiling, but maintaining eye contact through the moment's silence that follows. "I've just been out for quite a long time now," she continues, "I forget sometimes that people don't already know, and sometimes don't even wonder even though I think it's fairly obvious. She would have guessed, at least, right?" 

Waverly shrugs. "It's not _that_ obvious, and Wynonna can be especially oblivious sometimes."

Nicole sucks her lip in between her teeth. "You haven't mentioned it to her?"

"No, I haven't said anything."

"Huh." Nicole bites her lip a moment, thinking. "She told me not so long ago she thought I should be hanging out with you instead--" she stops, and her eyes widen, "I mean, I take it she doesn't like Steph?"

"It's okay, it's mutual, trust me. She said that, though? That I should hang out with you?" 

"Yeah. I kinda wondered if... well if maybe you had told her, and that was her way of saying she wasn't going to be a weird homophobic dick. Like, 'hey, I'm so cool with it I'd even trust you to be around my little sister' kind of thing."

Waverly laughs. "Well I highly doubt she'd be a weird homophobic dick about it, but maybe she just knows both of us well enough to know we'd get along well."

"She said it right after she told me I was a walking bumper sticker."

"That sounds like something she'd say about someone I'd like. And get along well with. And it's a pretty high compliment from her, I have to say."

"Yeah, she said it like an insult, but I felt good about it. I'm not sure if that's what she intended or not. She's a complicated woman, your sister."

Waverly raises her eyebrow. "You have no idea." They sit quietly for a few moments, Nicole still massaging Waverly's feet, lost in thought until the younger womans speaks again. "Do you want me to tell her? Like, casually?"

"You can if you like, or if it comes up. It's not a secret. Otherwise I'll try to work it into conversation sometime, just so we both know that she knows for sure."

"I don't mean that you have to or anything."

Nicole squeezes her foot reassuringly. "I know."

\-----

Wynonna marches into the bullpen the next morning where Nicole sits alone, trapped, at her desk in the corner.

"Wynonna, hey. Did you see the--"

The Black Badge deputy leans forward, resting on her knuckles on the desk to stare Nicole in the face, and she narrows her eyes.

Nicole slowly pushes her wheelie chair back a little to create a bit more space between them. "Look if this is about me being gay--"

The brunette shakes her head, confused. "What? No. It's--- Wait, you're gay?"

Nicole nods. "Oh, yeah. I thought Waverly must have told you."

Wynonna stands up, confused. "Told me what? Did something happen between you two?"

"No, no. Just that I'm gay."

The pair stare at each other a moment.

"Are you getting it on with my baby sister, Haught?"

Nicole shakes her head. "No, she's just helping me to bake."

Wynonna narrows her eyes again. "And you cooked her dinner last night."

"Well, she was helping me make muffins, it was the least I could do."

"That's what I'm here about, actually," Wynonna says, "the muffins."

"Is something wrong with them?" Nicole looks around Wynonna as if she could even see into the break room where she had left the plate of four for Nedley, Wynonna, and Dolls to fight over. She doesn't honestly expect Lonnie's one to last until he is back at work tomorrow.

"No. They're just..." Wynonna sighs. "I thought you were going to be making cookies."

"Oh, yeah. That was the plan, but the store didn't have any vegan chocolate left. Waverly said I should make them with regular chocolate but I wanted her to be able to eat them too, so she offered to teach me her muffins instead."

Wynonna stares at her for a beat or two. "You did, huh? Well, those muffins are Waverly's special _thing_ , you know? Don't go sharing that recipe around or whatever."

"Of course not," Nicole says earnestly, rolling her chair forward again as the tension in the air begins to dissipate, "I'd would never want to do anything that took something away from her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here's the recipe!](https://www.cookinghealthy.co/recipes/breakfast-recipes/vegan-banana-muffins/) Double it to make 12 muffins!  
> 
> 
> Here's the recipe too for the [kidney bean bolognese](https://www.cookinghealthy.co/recipes/dinner-recipes/spaghetti-with-kidney-beans-bolognese-recipe/) I mentioned. I make a version of this, it's great. I like the beans pretty well mashed hehe, it goes nice and thick and coats the pasta better that way. 
> 
> Come yell at me on twitter and tell me I need to stop drinking before writing and/or editing this - [@griddles83](https://twitter.com/griddles83)


	3. Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baking at the Earp Homestead, with a certain gatecrasher to keep them company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is over a day late, the muse did not want to play ball this week and took a lot to be coaxed out. Editing after a few whiskeys so please forgive any blunders.

The following Tuesday morning, Waverly bursts into the station with the widest grin on her face, nearly bowling Nedley over in the process, as he wanders to the break room for his third coffee of the morning, and no doubt his fifth bathroom break. "Easy there, Tiger," he says, shuffling away.

"Good morning, Waves," Nicole says, placing her pen down on her desk and leaning back in her chair.

Waverly squeals a little and holds up two blocks of chocolate. "It's the _best_ morning, Nicole!" She does a little jig with her feet on the spot and then gracefully hops up to sit on the edge of the officer's desk. "My chocolate is back in stock."

"I see! That's great." Nicole reaches for one of the bars and has a closer look at the label, for future reference. "So we can make cookies now?"

"Yup! Well, not now now, unless Sheriff Nedley will give you the rest of the day off. But as soon as we want to, yeah."

"Oh, I want to. I'm still not sold on the whole 'beans and chocolate' combination, but you tell me it's good and you've been right about everything else, so I have no reason to disbelieve you."

Waverly beams at the praise. "How about... tonight? We could bake them at my place, if you like? I could cook you dinner. It is my turn, after all."

"You don't need to take a turn, dinner was my thank you to you for teaching me."

"Oh, pfft," Waverly dismisses her with a wave of her hand, "I'm not some high school tutor you need to reimburse. Friends hang out and do things together all the time, which includes making things together and cooking each other food."

"Are you sure?" Waverly levels a firm stare at her and Nicole holds her hands up in surrender. "Okay, alright, I'm not going to say no to a pretty girl offering to cook me dinner."

Waverly pumps her hands in the air, with a restrained but excited "yay!"

Nicole hands her back the block of chocolate. "What time do you want me?"

\-----

Waverly peeks out the window when she hears a car arrive. She knows the engine doesn't sound like Wynonna's truck, but she just wants to be sure. But when she sees the police cruiser she suddenly feels a little flustered and unsure what to do; open the door now and wait for Nicole on the porch like an eager beaver? Go back to the kitchen and pretend she wasn't listening out for Nicole's car, and wait for her to knock? Why is she over-thinking this so much?

She ends up spending so long debating with herself about what to do that Nicole reaches the porch and knocks before she comes to a decision. Waverly squeaks in surprise from the other side of the door at the sound. Smoothing down her skirt and trying to control the warmth in her cheeks, she opens the door, hoping Nicole hadn't heard her. 

Nicole's smile is wide and warm, and if she did hear her, she's too kind to mention it. She holds up a bottle of red wine. Then she lifts a bottle of white wine in her other hand. "I felt weird coming empty handed. I didn't know what you drank, or what would go with what you were cooking, so I brought both."

Waverly reaches for the bottle closest to her free hand, the white wine, and steps aside. "Come in, come in. Thank you, you didn't need to, but thank you." She takes the other bottle when Nicole enters and she can read the expression on her face as wondering how to take her coat off while holding it. 

Nicole had gone home, showered and changed, going by the soft, floral scent of a nice body wash or moisturiser, and the damp hairs at the nape of her neck under where her pony tail had her rich, auburn hair pulled up and back before tumbling back down past her collar. She takes in the officer's outfit as she hangs her coat on the hook in the entranceway. Dark jeans, and a medium blue button-up shirt with tiny white flowers on it, and she takes off her sneakers before Waverly can tell her that she doesn't need to. Her socks have tiny rainbows on them, which surprises Waverly a little, and she thinks they are adorable. "You look nice."

"Thank you," Nicole says, "so do you."

Waverly had changed from the outfit Nicole had seen her in that morning into a loose, knee-length skirt and loose, flowing, peasant blouse. She had simply felt that dinner with a friend called for something a little nicer than her casual jeans and midriff top. "Thank you." She notices Nicole looking around the small living room. "Oh, you haven't been here before, have you? Let me give you a little tour. This is the living room slash where Wynonna sleeps," she gestures to the day-bed style couch at the end of the room, the cushions and pillows having been returned neatly to their positions earlier by Waverly, after Wynonna had left them scattered around that morning. 

Nicole follows Waverly, through past a piano, a small study area with a desk, hallway, and into the kitchen. She places the bottles of wine on the table, and heads to the cupboard for some glasses. 

"Would you like a glass now?" She's not a big wine drinker, but the thought of one at that moment, to take the edge off her nerves, seems just the thing.

"Sure," Nicole says. "Red or white?"

"Whichever you prefer. I've never really gotten the whole thing about matching wines to food, I think just drink the wine you like the taste of best, but I made lasagne for dinner if it matters to you."

"Matching red wine to red meat and white wine to white meat and fish was about as far as I got with understanding the pairing thing. I don't really know how to translate that to vegan food, so I'm with you, just drink the one you like the taste of best. Merlot, or Pinot Grigio?"

"I guess lentils are kind of meaty, so merlot?"

"Good choice," Nicole says, opening the bottle.

Waverly places the wine glasses in front of Nicole, who begins to pour. "Would you have said that regardless of which one I chose?"

"Of course," Nicole laughs, "I brought them, and I know they're both good, so it's an honest response either way. There's no way you could have made a wrong choice."

"What if I didn't like wine and didn't choose either?"

She stops pouring. "Well that isn't a wrong choice either. You don't have to drink, if you don't want to. Even just to be polite because I brought it. I'd be perfectly happy if we don't drink."

Waverly leans forward and touches Nicole's arm reassuringly. "No, no, I'd love a wine, honestly." 

Nicole looks down at the hand on her forearm until it pulls away, the glass in her hand, and back up to Waverly. "Okay," she says, and finishes pouring. She holds one out to Waverly, who finishes starting a playlist on her phone, and a pop song starts playing at low volume from a small bluetooth speaker on the counter, and puts her phone down. "To finally learning how to bake bean cookies."

The brunette takes the proffered glass and clinks it with Nicole's. "To expanding one's horizons."

"Eloquently said," Nicole says with a smile, and takes a sip as Waverly smiles back, sipping her own. 

She already has the ingredients set out for them, ready to use, along with a printed copy of the recipe, presumably for Nicole to take with her, a few hand-written notes about the process scrawled across the bottom. The oven is already warming up to temperature. Nicole opens the tin of chickpeas, and Waverly holds out a small jar before Nicole reaches the sink. "Could you pour the liquid into here?"

"Okay," Nicole says, confused, but she does so anyway, pouring the thick bean water in as instructed.

"Chickpea liquid is kind of like vegan egg white, you can use it in lots of things. I make scrambled tofu with it for breakfast. It makes it go fluffy like eggs."

" _What?_ That is fascinating," Nicole says, with genuine wonder.

"I can make them for you to try sometime," Waverly says. The thought of making Nicole breakfast flashes through her mind; standing at the stove with just her satin robe on over the wholly impractical but very cute sleepwear that she only wears when she's not sleeping alone, the other woman sat behind her, dressed in sweatpants and a tank top with no bra, tousled hair piled on her head in a loose, rough bun, her adorable sleepy face... Waverly shakes herself out of her daydream and turns back to the ingredients on the counter, willing the pinkness in her cheeks to fade. "Maybe we can do a breakfast-for-dinner sometime or something. Wynonna loves that."

"That sounds awesome," Nicole says, filling the drained chickpea tin with water from the tap to rinse them. 

Waverly busies herself opening jars and getting the necessary measuring implements from the drawer.

Nicole skims over the recipe and tips the chickpeas into the food processor. She reaches for the coconut oil, already warmed to melting temperature, and Waverly hands her the measuring spoon. They do the same with the vanilla, like a well oiled machine.

"What is 'relatively smooth'," Nicole asks, their faces close together as they peer into the top of the processor as it whizzes through the ingredients added to it so far.

"You," Waverly teases.

Nicole nudges the shorter woman with her elbow, and their eyes meet. Nicole hasn't seen her up quite this close before, and she can't help but notice the gold flecks in her hazel eyes. Waverly, however, finds her eyes dropping to Nicole's lips, where she notices a slight redness from the wine. She runs her tongue over her own lips and rolls her bottom lip between her teeth wondering if her look the same, and when her eyes rise up to Nicole's orbs again she sees her eyes drawn to her lips at the movement. 

Waverly swallows down a surge of panic and switches off the food processor. "That should be enough." She twists the top and lifts the lid off.

Nicole resumes adding the dry ingredients and vinegar, and the processor is again set going to mix them all. Waverly unwraps one of the blocks of chocolate, breaks it in half, puts half on the chopping board and tucks the other half away. With a large knife she begins cutting it into small pieces. "You have to make-do when you can't get actual vegan chocolate chips here," she says, when she catches Nicole watching her.

"I love how resourceful you are," the redhead says. "You know exactly how to make things turn out well even if you don't have the specific thing you're supposed to have."

Waverly slides the chopped chocolate from the board into the processor bowl, and Nicole pulses it a few times to mix the chocolate through. Waverly pulls the baking tray lined with greaseproof paper closer to them, and Nicole scoops a spoonful of the batter. 

"Do I just..."

"Yeah just dollop it on there, it doesn't have to be perfect."

Nicole continues scooping spoonfuls and Waverly pats them down and shapes them a little with the back of another spoon. The last ones require the remaining batter to be scraped off the blades and bowl with a spatula, and when the last one is done and the tray is full, Nicole squints her eyes and tentatively licks the spatula. Her eyes widen in surprise. "Oh, wow."

"Pretty good, huh," Waverly grins.

"I mean, I trusted that they'd be good if you said they were, but... that's better than I expected, for sure."

Waverly slides the tray into the hot oven. "If you think that's good, wait until you try the finished product."

Nicole rinses out the processor, blades, utensils, chopping board, and knife, while Waverly puts away the ingredients and sets the oven timer for 20 minutes.

"Is Wynonna not home tonight," Nicole asks, drying her hands on the hand towel.

Waverly shakes her head. "She said she was going to Shorty's after work, but I expect she'll show up at some point. I made enough dinner for all of us, just in case." She gestures to a dish sitting on the counter covered in tin foil. "I figured I'd put the lasagne in the hot oven after the cookies, it only needs about 20 or 30 minutes," she explains, then bites her lip. "Maybe I should have cooked it first so we could eat while we wait for the cookies."

"I'm in no rush," Nicole says with a warm smile, and sips her wine.

"Okay," Waverly says, picking up her wine again, "that's good." She sips. "Um, I'll get started on the salad then, if you want to sit here we can chat."

"Can I help?"

The brunette looks back at Nicole from the refrigerator and considers the offer, how rarely it is that anyone does. She would always help Gus cook if she were at the farm, but when she lived there and it was Gus' night off, Waverly would cook for them all without help. Her uncle would often sit at the table and chat to her over a beer after he finished his chores, but for all his love of gardening, he definitely did not have a knack with that produce in the kitchen at all. Champ would never even offer, and if he was around he was usually in her way, trying to distract her. Wynonna didn't seem interested in or able to do much more than opening a packet or ordering her food. And here stood Nicole, who knew her way around the kitchen, and is not only offering to help but seems eager to do so.

"Sure, I'd like that," she smiles, eventually, and starts to pass the taller woman vegetables. "Are you happy with salad as a side? I could make--"

"No, no. Salad is great. I'm really glad actually."

Waverly chuckles. "Usually everyone grumbles about salad, but I really like it, especially with something quite heavy like lasagne."

"So do I," Nicole agrees. "I haven't had it as much as I'd like, especially lately. It's a bit more of a pain to make when you're cooking for one. I mean, to buy all the different components, and spend all that time chopping it up, just for one salad. Then to try to use all the bits and pieces before they go bad. And not a lot of places here have much in the way of salads on the menu."

"I hear you. Not many people order them at Shorty's, probably not at the diner either, so like you say, a lot of ingredients can go to waste. I convinced Shorty to add a salad to the specials menu a few times, and I made up a big batch in advance, but then I ended up eating it for every meal for days on end because we only had one person order it. And I'm pretty sure Shorty forced him to order it too, so I wouldn't feel bad that no one did."

Nicole laughs. "Oh, gosh! Really? Well that was nice of him I suppose."

"He was a good person," Waverly says with a note of sadness. She doesn't notice she hasn't spoken again until Nicole touches her shoulder and she startles.

"You okay?"

"Yes! Sorry, yes. Just thinking."

"You do that a lot," Nicole smiles.

"Sorry," Waverly says again.

Nicole shakes her head. "Don't apologise, it's no wonder you're so smart, out-thinking all the rest of us all the time."

Waverly shakes as much water out of the lettuce as she can and places it on a clean tea towel to dry, and Nicole returns to slicing cucumber.

"Have you thought about getting a roommate? So you're not making salad for one, and so your house won't feel so empty?"

Nicole hums. "The second bedroom is fairly small, and I've already set it up as a study. Plus I haven't shared my home since college. I've had my own place for a couple of years now and I worry I might be a bit too old and set in my ways to go back to a shared-house situation."

"Old! Whatever," Waverly exclaims, then cocks her head. "How old are you, out of interest?"

"Twenty-six."

"Oh yeah, you're right, that's ancient," she laughs.

"Hey! Cheeky." Nicole leans over and elbows her playfully. "Although I guess that means you speak my language, right?"

Waverly laughs loudly. "You got me. See? I knew there was a good reason to take that course."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

"Oh," Nicole smiles, "just a baby."

Waverly rolls her eyes. "I may be the baby sister, but you grow up pretty fast when you're basically orphaned at age six."

Nicole puts down the knife, her face twisted in shame as she turns to Waverly. "I'm sorry, I didn't--"

The shorter woman places her hand on Nicole's bicep and squeezes. "Oh, it's fine, honestly. I'm teasing, sort of. I didn't mean anything by it. That's just life." She looks down at the salad between them. "Olives. I forgot olives. Do you like olives?"

"Sure," Nicole says, even though she isn't actually a huge fan. She will eat them if she has to, and if Waverly wants them in the salad, there's no way in hell she'd say no to them.

When she returns from the refrigerator with the olive jar, Nicole has started chopping the lettuce. Waverly uses the tongs to mix the vegetables already in the bowl, then leans against the counter to watch Nicole continue to chop, moving on to celery. "I could get used to this," she says, "having someone come to my house to cook for me."

Nicole grins, popping the end piece of celery in her mouth and crunching it. "Cute, but you did most of the work, making that lasagne and all." She chops a nice, crisp middle piece and holds it out for Waverly, who takes the offering and bites into it, enjoying the freshness it brings to her mouth.

"So, I was actually thinking," Nicole continues, "I might get a cat to keep me company at home."

Waverly squeals and jumps up and down on the spot. "Yes! I love cats! I could never have one growing up because Uncle Curtis was so allergic but I always wanted one. You should definitely get one!" Nicole chuckles and Waverly gets her excitement under control, barely. "You said 'cat'. Not a kitten?"

"No, as cute as kittens are, there are so many adult animals waiting to find forever homes. And a kitten would get so lonely while I'm at work, I'd feel so bad leaving it every day." She glances over at Waverly when there's no response, and finds the brunette just looking at her with the softest expression. "What?"

"Nothing, that's just really sweet."

Nicole shrugs. "It's practical. Hopefully I can get one that is already house-trained, which is a nice bonus for me too."

"You don't have to be all 'it's practical' with me. I know you're a big softie." Waverly leans into Nicole, head against her shoulder, looking up at her. "I've got you figured out, Nicole Haught."

They're interrupted by the front door banging open and slamming shut. "Waves, you better not have let the cops in without a search warrant!"

Waverly pulls away from Nicole and rolls her eyes playfully to the taller woman. They wait for the clattering of boots being kicked off and keys thrown somewhere, and for the soft thump of socked footfalls to reach the kitchen.

"Smells good in here! Oh, hey Red," Wynonna says, pretending to be surprised but clearly not.

"Hi Wynonna," Nicole replies.

"Hey sis," Waverly says, "I thought you--"

"Ugh, salad again," Wynonna grumbles, plucking an olive directly from the open jar.

Waverly reaches out to smack her but misses by a mile. "Wash your hands first, please."

"Yes, Mom," Wynonna teases, pinching another olive before grabbing a mug and reaching for the bottle of whiskey off the top of the refrigerator. "I hope you're making us something a bit more satisfying than just salad. Ol' Stretch here didn't grow big and strong eating rabbit food."

"Strong? Another compliment so soon after 'walking bumper sticker'?"

"Figure of speech, Lurch," Wynonna narrows her eyes at the redhead.

Nicole narrows her eyes right back. "Well actually, I did grow this big and strong eating a lot of salad."

"Well actually, I don't care."

Waverly interrupts their banter. "There's lasagne to go in the oven as soon as the cookies come out."

"Gay cookies. I should have known," Wynonna snorts.

"What? Oh," Waverly scoffs, then confusion crosses her face and she looks to Nicole with a raised eyebrow.

"I told her," Nicole confirms.

"Told me what?"

"That I'm gay. We didn't know if you knew before I told you."

Wynonna scoffs. "Oh yeah, totally figured that out."

"You did not," Nicole protests and shakes her head at the lie, "you had no idea."

"Well," Wynonna counters, "no, but in hindsight it made perfect sense. You did compliment my ass."

"That's not quite--"

The oven timer rings and Wynonna makes a move for it, but is blocked by Waverly. 

"No! Let the cookies cool down this time. I had to listen to you complain about your burnt tongue from the melted chocolate for three days last time," she chastises. "And go wash your hands, God knows where they've been."

Wynonna wiggles her eyebrows a couple of times. "Oh, God was not involved, but his name was mentioned."

"Ew," Waverly and Nicole say in unison.

"Don't hate me coz you ain't me," Wynonna shrugs and leaves the kitchen, footsteps pounding up the stairs to the bathroom above.

Waverly turns and reaches for the oven mitt, and Nicole opens the oven door for her. Waverly slides the tray out with her mitted hand, and reaches down to close the oven door out of instinct, but finds her bare hand touching the back of Nicole's. She pulls away like she's been burnt and barely manages to place the baking tray on the stove top without fumbling it and dropping the cookies. She slides the mitt off and pokes a cookie with her finger. "They look done to me."

She turns and reaches for the foil-covered dish of lasagne, and turns back to find Nicole has opened the oven door for her again, anticipating her next move, and again when Waverly reaches to close it out of sheer habit, and their hands connect, but this time she doesn't pull away until the door is closed.

"More wine?"

\-----

Dinner goes surprisingly smoothly, Wynonna enjoying the lasagne so much that most of the time she keeps her mouth full of pasta rather than pointed jabs at Nicole. She even eats the salad with surprising gusto given her griping earlier in the evening.

Conversation remains light, a little about work but mostly about observations about the town, advice to Nicole about certain townsfolk and where to find things. The sort of information locals seem to instinctively know but which is foreign to newcomers.

"So why Purgatory," Wynonna asks near the end of the meal. "Out of all the god-forsaken ass-ends-of-the-Earth, why Purgatory?"

"Sheriff Nedley, mostly? He contacted me when I graduated and offered me a position, but I decided to work in the city for a few years first, I wanted to be a detective. But he kept in touch, and last time he called he made me an offer I couldn't refuse, and the timing just seemed right."

"Nedley. Pursued you, for years," Wynonna dot points in disbelief, impaled cucumber on a fork hanging in the air next to her mouth. Nicole nods. "Well. You must be something fucking special, huh." She shakes her head and eats the cucumber. "Nedley. Jesus."

Waverly smiles across the table at Nicole. "Here I was thinking I was the best judge of character around here. Maybe Nedley has me beat after all."

"Bleurgh," Wynonna says with a gagging motion as she stands. "Stop. So who's ready for cookies?"

" _A_ cookie, Wy, singular. They're Nicole's so one taste-test only," she says.

Wynonna turns around with a cookie in each hand and a grin on her face. "They say possession is nine-tenths of the law, and I do believe these cookies are in my house."

"A, that's not how it works," Nicole says to Wynonna, "And it is worrying you think that, but it's fine, Waves," Nicole says to the younger woman. She stands up and stacks Wynonna's empty plate on top of her own before reaching for Waverly's. "As long as there's one each left for the Sheriff and Lonnie it'll be fine. Oh, and Dolls, I suppose."

"Dolls is on a diet," Wynonna says with a mouthful, the first cookie already gone and a bite taken out of the second. "He's shredding, or whatever gym douches call it. Told me I could eat his one."

" _Sure_ he did," Waverly says, leaving Nicole to rinse the dirty dishes in the sink while she fetches a paper bag for the cookies Nicole will take with her. She double bags four cookies, then picks another up from the four remaining on the cooling rack, holding it out for Nicole. "Would you like a tea or a cocoa or something to go with it?"

"Honestly, I don't think I can wait that long, they smell too good."

Waverly grins. "I forgot you don't like to wait for things you want."

Wynonna raises an eyebrow at Nicole over her little sister's head, and Nicole feels her cheeks warm. "I think you've taken that out of context a little."

Waverly scrunches her face up. "Have I, though?" She jiggles the offered cookie to Nicole, who, with wet hands still in the sink, leans forward and takes a bite. 

She closes her eyes and chews, taking all the flavours of the soft, moist cookie and warm melted chocolate. "Wow, okay. Wow," she manages eventually. "That is amazing. I cannot believe they actually have beans in them."

"Oh you'll know later when you can't sleep because you're farting so much," Wynonna cackles, "although that's more fun when you can Dutch oven someone in the bed."

Waverly scowls at her sister and turns to Nicole. "There's a reason she sleeps on the couch instead of sharing with me."

"Yeah, that reason is you're a fucking koala."

"You were warm and I was freezing! And I was asleep!"

"Yeah, that's even more gross. You probably thought I was your boyfriend."

"Ex-boyfriend, thank you very much, and no I didn't. This would be a much more awkward conversation if I had."

"Ew," Wynonna says at the same time Nicole says "yikes."

The sisters turn to Nicole. "Sorry," Waverly says, "we're just kidding."

"Are we, though," Wynonna jests.

Nicole shrugs and takes another bite of her cookie with an amused smile. "It's all good."

Wynonna lifts the bottle after refilling her mug. "Whiskey, Haught?"

"No thanks, I still have to drive."

"Eh," the older brunette shrugs, "you don't _have_ to drive. I'm sure you could bunk in with Waves if you have a few too many beverages."

"Or there's a whole other bed upstairs," Waverly says quickly.

"You'd shove her in Willa's? That's cold, Waves. Real cold."

"Willa," Nicole asks, confused.

"Our dead sister," Wynonna says, and takes a decent swig from her mug.

"It's fine. It's not haunted or anything," Waverly says with an unconvincing laugh, "it's just, it's still the same as it was fifteen years ago. We haven't really done anything in there to fix it up yet."

"Are creepy staring dolls and galloping horse pictures your thing? No judgement if it is, everyone has a kink."

Waverly smacks her sister's arm.

Nicole laughs. "Thank you, but I do have an early start tomorrow so I should probably get going. Thank you for your offer to accommodate me though. Haunted room or, uhh," she glances at Waverly, "otherwise."

"Some other time then, when you don't have to pike out early. I reckon a few drinks would get that stick outta your ass and you could be fun."

"Wynonna!"

"Plus little sis here puts on a good spread when you come." She throws an arm around Waverly's shoulders. "Love that lasagne." Holding her sister in place, she reaches past her for another cookie from the tray. "Yoink! These are alright too!"

Waverly grabs for the cookie but only cops her sister's palm to her face, pushing her back before ducking out into the hallway.

"Sorry," Waverly says, a little embarrassed, "she can be a lot."

"I heard that," Wynonna calls from some other room.

"It's nice. I don't have siblings, so it's just... it's sweet. You two are funny."

Waverly chuckles, thinking about her sister's return for a moment. "Do you have to get going soon? Or do you want to, umm, we could talk, or watch something on TV? Or I have some videos."

"Like, 'video cassette' videos?"

"Well, yeah. I mean we have a DVD player too but I mostly rented DVDs, we don't have many here. Our video selection is much bigger." Waverly hesitates, suddenly hyper-aware of how many of the movies she has collected in her younger years are romances. Heterosexual romances. She wonders if Nicole would like them, or think badly of her for not having a single gay movie in her collection. Or what would she think if she did have one? "We don't have to." She quickly decides she would actually like to watch a gay romance, and maybe she should see what the Blockbuster carries next time she's in town.

Nicole turns and leans on the counter a step closer to Waverly, and crosses her legs at the ankle. "I would love to, but maybe some other time?"

Relief washes over Waverly, confusingly mingled with disappointment. "Yeah, okay."

"What's the next level?" She notes Waverly's frown. "In baking. Cake, muffins, and cookies all a success. What's the next level up? Something more difficult. If you still want to teach me."

"She does," Wynonna says, returning briefly for the whiskey bottle.

"You mean _you_ still want to eat the fruits of our labour." 

"Fuck fruit! Cookies and cake, though. Hell yes."

Waverly rolls her eyes at her sister's back as she returns to the living room, before turning back to Nicole, handing her the paper bag of remaining cookies. They start to make their way through to the front door. "Well, I'd say either cinnamon rolls or bear claws would be some of the more complicated recipes I have."

"Bear claws! You make those?"

"We can make those, if you like? The pastry needs at least four hours to rise, though, or overnight is even better, so we could do it over two days."

Nicole purses her lips. "Are you working on Thursday?" Waverly grimaces and nods an affirmative. "What about Monday?"

"I am totally free on Monday."

"How about... would you want to come over in the morning, we can make the pastry, then we could take a drive to the cat rescue just outside the city?" Waverly was already jumping up and down, clasping her hands. Nicole grins and nods. "And then we go back to mine, hopefully with a cat--"

"You're getting a cat? Stereotype, much," Wynonna snorts. "Lesbians love the pussies."

"Bye Wynonna!"

Waverly hurries Nicole into her coat and bundles her out the door, throwing a glare back at her sister as she does. She realises once she's outside just how cold it is, and rubs her hands on her arms.

"Go back inside, you'll catch your death," Nicole insists.

"Okay, but yes to Monday, that sounds awesome. I'm so excited to get your cat with you!"

Nicole steps down to the top stair then turns. "Alright, well, thank you for dinner, it was lovely."

"You're welcome. Anytime."

A moment passes, then Nicole leans forward, and her arms raise just enough for Waverly to catch on, and she leans in, her arms tucking in around the taller woman's waist under her coat. She's warm, and soft, and she smells so good. Waverly breathes her in, feels the vanilla scent fill her lungs. Then it is cold again all too soon, and Nicole is waving as she climbs into the police cruiser. Waverly waves back, a smile on her face, and her heart beating out of her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recipe here for [chickpea chocolate chip cookies](https://detoxinista.com/vegan-chickpea-chocolate-chip-cookies-gluten-free-nut-free/).
> 
> Also the recipe for the [scrambled tofu with aquafaba](https://www.blissfulbasil.com/vegan-scrambled-eggs-made-with-aquafaba/) if you're interested in trying it. (I love it!)


	4. Bear Claws (and cat claws)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Nicole adopts Calamity Jane, they make **the most** drawn out recipe ever, and [redacted].
> 
> _"I wouldn't want to end up too much of a stereotype."_
> 
> _"What, a crazy cat lady? That hardly seems like you," Waverly says, quirking her eyebrow._
> 
> _"Maybe not now, but give it a few years and add half a dozen cats to my house and I'd be well on my way to lonely old lesbian, sitting on a porch swing with a shotgun and a gaggle of raggedy strays."_
> 
> _Waverly snorts, imagining the scene playing out with Nicole on the porch swing at the homestead. "Is it bad that small part of me wants to see that," she asks a little wistfully. She imagines an older version of herself joining her with two steaming mugs of tea. "Not the lonely part though."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Note the rating change*
> 
> I hope all those participating in Veganuary this year enjoyed it and might continue... and those who didn't commit to the whole thing, maybe you tried a thing or two here and there or are more open to choosing vegan options in future...
> 
> I had hoped to have this chapter up last weekend but it turned into a total beast, sorry not sorry it's so long? Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy these bear claws. Recipe link is in the end notes for anyone wanting to make them. [Here's a link](https://www.instagram.com/p/t-fljEL9iT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link) to a pic of the first time I made them (using brown flax as the egg replacer hence the flecks in the dough)

Waverly arrives at nine o'clock, as planned, just as Nicole is switching on the kettle to make another coffee for herself and tea for Waverly. She has the door open already as the brunette jogs up the steps, a pastry mat in one hand and a rolling pin in the other. "Hey, Nic!"

"Good morning," she greets, suddenly un-fussed by the nickname people have tried to call her by and she has disliked her whole life, and steps aside, allowing Waverly to enter. She closes the door behind her, and once again she frees Waverly's hands up to remove her coat by relieving her of the carried objects and takes them to the kitchen. "Can I get you a cup of tea?"

"Yes please," Waverly says, appearing in the kitchen, sans coat and scarf, "it's freezing out there this morning!" She notes the ingredients for today's project are already laid out on the table, as usual, but today she also notes a new addition to the kitchen. In the corner of the room there is a small rubber mat, with an empty dish and a water bowl atop it. Sitting next to it is a carry-cage, the plastic base of it lined with newspaper. Waverly squeals. "You're all prepared to become a Mama today, I see!"

Nicole chuckles. "I sure hope so. There's a bed and some toys in the living room, and a litter tray in the laundry room. I think I have everything I need."

Waverly accepts the offered tea and turns back to the kitchen table. "Alright, ready to get your pastry on?"

"Get it on? Am I going to be eating it or wearing it," Nicole laughs, and then a little harder at Waverly's expression. "Yeah, I'm ready." She rolls up her sleeves and adds the yeast to the quarter cup of warm water she's already measured into a small jug, and in a small cup next to it, the four teaspoons of ground flax are soaking in another quarter cup of water. While she waits for the yeast to foam and the flax to thicken, she adds the flour into a larger mixing bowl. "Okay, so what does it mean to 'cut' the shortening into the flour?"

Waverly opens the tub of vegan butter and peels off the paper liner inside. "Just mix them. I think when you use a chilled animal fat it is harder, so it's easier to use a knife or even the back of a fork to mix it with the flour, but when you're using a vegan butter it's quite soft, so it's messy but easier to use your hands." She measures out three quarters of a cup of the butter while Nicole scrubs her hands.

Scraping the lump of vegan butter from the measuring cup into the flour, Waverly looks up at Nicole, who looks down at it in trepidation. "Here goes nothing." She picks up some of the flour, covering the lump of vegan butter, then presses down. The yellow fat oozes between her fingers.

Waverly giggles at Nicole's grossed-out face-scrunch, but she continues nonetheless, working the flour through it, until it is less greasy and more crumbly, pausing every now and then to scrape down her fingers and palms, and eventually cleaning as much off as she can before washing her hands in the kitchen sink with soap.

Nicole turns around. "Alright, how's that yeast looking?"

"Foamy!" Waverly is already measuring the sugar and salt into it, and Nicole raises an eyebrow. Waverly shrugs. "What, I can't help? Pretty sure you know how to do this bit now."

She laughs. "It's fine, I'm just teasing." Nicole picks up the small tin of coconut cream and gives it a shake before opening it and measuring out another quarter cup, pouring it into the mixture of wet ingredients. Waverly scrapes the now-thickened flax into it and Nicole stirs the mixture in the jug until everything is well combined, then pours it onto the flour crumble. She uses the spatula to stir it until Waverly seems satisfied, then sits a plate on top of the bowl to seal off the air, and pops it into the shelf in the refrigerator where she had already cleared space for it.

"It is nine-fifteen now, so any-time after one-fifteen we can do the next stage," Waverly says, looking at the clock on the wall. She claps her hands together. "Let's go get your kitty!"

\-----

Nicole is nervous. Excited, but also nervous, and Waverly seems to sense it as the pull up nearly an hour later outside the cat shelter on the outskirts of the city, which turns out to be just a regular-looking house on a suburban street. She reaches over and squeezes the redhead's forearm. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Nicole smiles, though it doesn't come as easily as usual, "just excited." Waverly levels her with a knowing glare with one perfectly pitched eyebrow, and she relents. "It feels weird, like I've got this grown-up job now and live in a grown-up house and spend my spare time doing grown-up hobbies like gardening and baking. And here I am, with you, who I've only really known a couple of weeks, though it feels like a lot longer than that, about to adopt a cat. It just feels a little surreal how quickly the pieces of the life I've always wanted have fallen into place."

Waverly beams, then pinches Nicole's arm. "Ow!"

"Just so you know you're not dreaming," she says with a cheeky grin. Nicole swats at her hand and laughs, and they climb out of Waverly's Jeep into the brisk morning air.

A bell over the door rings when Nicole opens it, holding it for Waverly then following behind her. A middle aged man sits in what would probably have been the living room when it was a home, off the side of the hallway, but has now been converted into an office space with a few chairs. A large cube bookshelf against the wall contains all sorts of cat paraphernalia, from collars, to toys, to food, to ornaments.

"Welcome, to Second Chance Angels Rescue" he says in a strong Southern accent and rises from his chair, pushing his oversized spectacles up his nose, "I'm Barry."

Nicole reaches out her hand as he approaches. "Hi, I'm Nicole, and this is Waverly."

He shakes Nicole's hand and turns to the shorter brunette. "Well hi, Nicole, and Waverly, what a pretty name you have."

"Hi, and thank you," she says, shaking his offered hand as well.

"How may I help you two lovely ladies today?"

He's still looking at Waverly when he asks, so she answers him. "We would like to see your cats for adoption, please."

"Well alright then. Is there anything in particular you're looking for? We don't have any kittens at the moment, but we have young cats, older cats, and all kinds of colours and fur lengths. No purebreds that we know of, although I'm assuming you didn't come expecting to find any."

Waverly looks up at Nicole waiting for her reply, which she thinks about for a moment. "Actually, I'd like to see the ones who have been here the longest, first, if I can."

Barry nods deeply. "Certainly, let me show you Jane. She came in to us almost a year ago now, surrendered from a deceased estate with her brother, Tarzan," he says with a chuckle, and gestures for them to follow. "They weren't particularly close and he was big old friendly thing, people loved him but Jane didn't often like them, so eventually we allowed them to be adopted separately. He was snapped up by a family a while ago now." They hear meowing from the rooms they pass as they follow Barry down the hallway. "Ol' Jane has quite a personality." He stops, his hand on a door-handle to a room at the back of the building. "I feel sorry for her being in a cage and she doesn't much like other cats, so I keep her in here by herself as much as possible. Now I must warn you, she doesn't much like men, either," he chuckles, "so please don't rely on your first impressions of her while I'm in there with you. Hopefully that won't cause a problem for you two when you get her home, though," he says with a wink.

Nicole opens her mouth, about to correct his apparent assumption about the nature of her and Waverly's relationship, but he has already turned and entered the room. Waverly takes her hand excitedly, squeezes it, and pulls the redhead into the room behind him.

A very large, medium-haired ginger cat sits curled up on the only piece of furniture in the very small room; a tiny two-seater couch. "This is our greeting room where we allow people to spend a little time with their prospective pussies before finalising the adoption. Sorry it is so small, we've ended up with so many new cats needing homes this year that we had to convert the old greeting room into another residence room so we could house them all. Anyhoo, this is Jane." The cat doesn't move from where she lays, but a low growl rolls out of her as she eyes Barry warily. "She's around eight years old, part Maine Coon hence her size, and a very independent little lady. I'll leave you three to get acquainted for a few minutes, and fetch you some adoption forms. Can I get you ladies anything else? Tea, coffee, water?"

Nicole shakes her head, and looks at Waverly. "No thank you, I'm fine. Waves?"

"No thank you," Waverly says, crouching down a short distance away from the cat.

"Alrighty then, I'll be back soon."

As soon as the door closes behind him, Jane's demeanour changes entirely. She yawns and stretches a large paw out, then lifts herself up and stretches again, first arching her back and then extending it, back legs poking out behind her. 

Nicole giggles. "Shit, he was right about her not liking men, look at the change in her." She crouches down next to Waverly and holds her hand out for the cat to get her scent. Jane sniffs her hand intently, then rubs her cheek against it. Nicole scratches behind her ear, and Jane looks to Waverly and trills.

"Well hello, beautiful," Waverly says, offering her hand to the cat, who repeats the sniff and bunts her head against it, seeking another head scratch.

Nicole pats the spare seat next to where Jane sits. "Here, why don't you take a seat, Waves."

"You can sit with her," Waverly offers. 

"It's alright, I'll sit on the floor here in front of her."

Waverly stands and moves between them to sit on the couch, and almost immediately Jane climbs onto her lap.

"Or I'll just sit here," Nicole chuckles, taking the recently vacated other seat on the couch. She angles herself toward the pair, and slings her left arm along the back of the sofa, behind Waverly, and reaches with her right to pat the cat. A deep, rumbling purr starts up, and Jane blinks her eyes at Waverly.

"Ow," Waverly says, stroking the cat's front paws, which have started to knead her thigh through her thin skirt. "It's okay. Ow. It's fine."

Nicole pats her own thighs to see if she can coax Jane onto her lap, and after a few moments, she does, but returns to Waverly's lap soon after. "Well, we know who her favourite is," Nicole pretends to grouch. Waverly smiles apologetically, but her eyes are bright and happy at being chosen. "I can't blame her, though. She has good taste in humans," Nicole adds with a wink.

Barry returns to the room in that moment and claps his hands together. "Well, would you look at that! She just loves you two. I don't think I've ever seen her look so at ease so soon." Jane stops purring and glares at Barry, though her paws continue to slowly knead Waverly's thigh. He takes the clipboard from under his arm and a pen from his shirt pocket and holds them out, and Nicole reaches for them. "This application is for all your information and the change of microchip contact details. It's all standard terms, that you're allowed to have a cat at your residence, can afford to care for one, that you'll surrender her back to us if you ever can't care for her any more, et cetera. All general info at this stage until I add the adoptee information," he holds his hand up to shield his mouth from Jane and whispers, "would you like to see any of our other residents before deciding?"

"Not just yet," Nicole says, casting a quick eye over the forms, "I'll go over these first."

"Alright, I'll leave you to it. Come and see me up in the office when you're ready. I won't tell Jane if you want to take a gander in the other rooms at that point."

He leaves again and Nicole returns her attention to the paperwork, her hand moving from behind Waverly to scratch Jane's head before she sits up a little straighter and begins to fill in her name and address. She gets past the phone number and occupation and into answering the questions before she feels eyes on her, and looks over. Waverly and Jane both look back at her, and Waverly pokes her bottom lip out.

"What's wrong?"

Waverly cups her hands over Jane's ears, who doesn't seem to mind at all, and whispers. "Are you going to look at the other cats?"

With a chuckle, Nicole shakes her head. "I honestly don't see how we could leave here without this little lady," she rubs the cat's head, and her hand brushes Waverly's more than once as she moves around to Jane's cheek and behind her ear, "and if he says she doesn't get along with other cats then I can only get one, so it would only break my heart to see others and not be able to take them too." She purses her lips. "But it's probably not a bad thing that she has to be a solo kitty. I wouldn't want to end up too much of a stereotype."

"What, a crazy cat lady? That hardly seems like you," Waverly says, quirking her eyebrow.

"Maybe not now, but give it a few years and add half a dozen cats to my house and I'd be well on my way to lonely old lesbian, sitting on a porch swing with a shotgun and a gaggle of raggedy strays."

Waverly snorts, imagining the scene playing out with Nicole on the porch swing at the homestead. "Is it bad that small part of me wants to see that," she asks a little wistfully. She imagines an older version of herself joining her with two steaming mugs of tea. "Not the lonely part though."

Nicole chuckles and rolls her eyes, and returns to completing the checklist. She flips the page over to the microchip form, leaving the space for the chip number blank.

" _Are_ you lonely," Waverly asks softly, still stroking a very content Jane.

Nicole thinks for a moment how to answer honestly, without sounding pathetic. "I've been busy with work, and spending time with you on my days off has been great, so I haven't had a lot of time to be. But it's not easy moving to a town where everyone knows each other and you don't really know anyone. It'll take a while to truly feel a part of the community, I think." She rubs Jane's head. "But I'll get there, and I have this one now, to keep me company on the odd nights I do feel a little alone." She can't bring herself to look up from Jane to Waverly, but she can feel the other woman looking at her.

"You have me too," she says, reaching out her hand and resting it on Nicole's thigh with a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

Nicole looks down at Waverly's hand, her thumb mindlessly rub back and forth, and tries to calm her thumping heart. "Thanks, Waves," she says, and finds her voice thicker with emotion than she'd hoped. She clears her throat and finally meets Waverly's eyes, and her smile is returned warmly.

Jane turns around a few times and then lays down, covering Waverly's lap almost entirely, and rests her chin on the hand resting against her stomach. Waverly takes her other hand back from Nicole's thigh and continues stroking the length of the cat with it instead.

Paperwork finished, Nicole looks over at them. "Well you two look comfortable. Are you happy staying here while I go and take care of this with Barry?"

"Sure, we'll keep each other company, won't we, sweetheart," Waverly says, rubbing circles on the purring cat's forehead.

Barry looks up from his computer when Nicole enters the office and hands him the forms. "How'd you go, love?"

"Fine, thanks. We'll take her."

He glances up from where he's checking over her application. "Jane? Oh, wonderful! I thought for sure you would at least want to look at the other cats. Everybody else always did."

Nicole shakes her head, thinking of Jane's sweet little face, and of her and Waverly's clear love for each other already. "No, she's made her choice," she says with a little grin.

Barry chuckles. "It does tend to be that way, doesn't it. Don't worry, she'll still love you too." He looks over the forms. "Oh. It's just your details on here?"

Nicole nods, a little confused for a moment, before she remembers his earlier comment. "Yeah. Oh, no. Just me. She'll be my cat. Waverly and I aren't... we're not--"

"Oh, could've fooled me," he says flippantly, moving right along and ticking alongside her answers on the page, thankfully not looking back up while she tries to will the pinkness in her cheeks to go away. She wonders if it is that obvious that she likes Waverly a little more than a friend should. She wonders if Waverly knows, if she's ever made her uncomfortable, but she remembers her taking her hand earlier and the pesky hope clutches at her heart. She distracts herself looking at the food in the display shelf.

"I'll give you a pack with a few days worth of the wet and dry food that she's on now to take with you. You can buy more, or you can use it to slowly transition her over to whatever brand you plan to feed her in future. Just mix a little of the new food with the old, a little more each day, until her stomach is fine on the new brand."

"They sell this one in town, so if she's happy and doing well on it I don't see a reason to change."

"Good, good," he says. "Purgatory, huh? I hear it's beautiful out there, although my brother swears he saw a werewolf one time. He's a wild drunk so I don't know what to believe but he swears on our momma's grave that it's the truth."

Nicole laughs. "It is beautiful, and a little quirky, but I can't say I've heard of any werewolves."

"Well, you would know, Officer," he says with a grin. He finishes copying Jane's microchip details from the computer to the form, then photocopies them both and hands the copy to Nicole. "You should receive a letter from the microchip register within four weeks, if you don't, please let me know, although you don't need to worry too much. Her current registered contact is me and I have your details, so I would just call you up if need be."

"Thank you," Nicole folds the forms and tucks them into her back pocket, and retrieves her wallet, pulling out a number of bills and beginning to count them. "I presume the adoption fee on your website is still accurate?"

Barry sighs. "She's eight so I'd normally charge you the lower senior price, but Jane has been here so long I'm just relieved she's finally found her humans. Let's call it half off."

"Barry, you don't need to--"

He waves his hand between them. "No, don't argue with me, I've made up my mind."

Nicole chuckles and hands over the money. She adds another fifty. "Call it a donation for the good work you do here," she explains.

He bows his head. "Why thank you, I shall gratefully accept. Hoo babies, we're getting extra nip tonight," he jokingly shouts over his shoulder to the cats in the next room.

Nicole laughs. "I'd better go get the carry cage from the car," she says, and nips outside, the bell over the door ringing as she exits.

When she returns, Waverly is in the office, the large mass of ginger fur snuggled in her arms, comfortable, but glaring at Barry. "Here's Mommy," Waverly says to the cat.

Nicole grins and puts the cage on the floor, unlatches it and opens the lid. She carefully lifts the cat out of Waverly's arms and cuddles her a moment before turning toward the cage, which she knows Jane is not going to like very much. 

"One more thing before you go," Barry says, walking around the desk, "I ask for a photo of the new happy family to add to my success stories." He sees Nicole's hesitance and widens his eyes. "It helps an old man remember why he takes on so much responsibility for the happiness of these kitty cats, day in and day out." With a sigh, Nicole relents, and turns so that Jane is facing the camera too. Waverly steps away, out of the frame. "No, no," Barry insists, "get back in there, darlin'. Family photo."

The brunette hesitates, but Nicole gestures with her head for her to come closer, so she does. "Get in there, go on," Barry prods, until Waverly is close enough that Jane is snuggled between them. They smile, and the shutter clicks a few times in quick succession. "Cats are always wriggling, it helps ensure I get a good one that's not blurry," Barry explains. He looks at the screen on the back of the camera. "Oh, yeah, here we go. Gorgeous!"

He holds the camera out and the women lean in for a look. "Aww," Waverly coos, "so cute."

"I'll send it to you," Barry says, and places the camera down on the desk.

"Send it on to me," Waverly says to Nicole, leaning in to press two kisses to the top of Jane's head. "Me with my two favourite gingers."

Barry raises an eyebrow at Nicole over Waverly's head and Nicole tries to ignore him, tries to not get her hopes up that it means anything. She is correct, though, about Jane not liking the carry cage. The cat begins meowing as soon as she's placed into it, her paws reaching out through the bars, claws extended. "Alright, sweetie, let's get you home."

Barry holds the door for them and waves energetically from the porch as they climb into the Jeep. "Bye, girls! Drive safe! Bye!"

\-----

They're about fifteen minutes from home when Jane's incessant meowing finally stops.

"Thank fu-- oh god. Jane, no!" Nicole leans over and prods the cat through the wires. 

"What's going on back there," Waverly asks, easing off the accelerator and trying to glance around, unable to see far enough behind her to where Jane's cage is belted into the back seat, Nicole buckled in beside her to keep her company. Unfortunately, the smell reaches her before Nicole's reply does.

"Oh jeepers," she says. The vehicle wiggles slightly as Waverly quickly changes hands and winds the window down a little.

"I'm so sorry." Nicole says, "So, so sorry."

Jane resumes her pitiful meowing from her cramped position now jammed up against the bars at one end, fur poking through.

Waverly slows down and pulls off the road as soon as she gets a chance. She unbuckles her seat belt and turns around, kneeling on the seat. "What do you want to do?"

Nicole gags. "I can't," gag, "can't sit next to that the whole way home."

"Open the cage," Waverly suggests, I'll hang onto her while you tip that outside and put her back in."

"Did she step in it, though? I don't want to get poop in your car." Nicole peers in. "Nah," gag, "I don't think so." She unlatches the lid and Jane springs out like a Jack-In-The-Box, clambering across Nicole's lap and through into the front with Waverly, first standing up to look out the passenger window, then across onto Waverly's lap to look out that side and using the steering wheel to look out the front.

"Hold her there," Nicole says, and unlatches the seatbelt from the carry cage's handle. One long leg at a time she manages to climb through to the front seat, then reaches back for the cage. "You got her?" 

"Yep," Waverly says, her arms holding Jane securely to her. Nicole opens the door and climbs out with the cage, and tips the newspaper out into a ditch. The wind catches it, and it blows down the road, Nicole attempts to grab the closest bit, but it flies out of reach with the next gust. 

When she returns to the Jeep, she looks up to see her cat standing with her paws up on the windowsill, looking out at her. She meows. Nicole shakes her head and picks the cage back up.

Waverly hauls the large cat away from the door, allowing Nicole to climb back in. "I'm so sorry about this."

The brunette laughs. "It's fine, honestly."

"It's not, it still smells in here. Cat poop is the _worst_."

"You know what? It's actually not. There was a chili cookout once--"

"Wait, don't tell me, was it in 2005?"

Waverly's mouth drops open. "How did you know?"

Nicole laughs. "When Nedley ate those chickpea cookies last week, I didn't tell him what the secret ingredient was until after he'd tried one. He kind of zoned out and said he's struggled to eat anything with beans since the '05 Chili Cookout debacle. He refused to say anything more, just sat there shaking his head and muttering under his breath. But he did take another cookie so it can't have been too bad."

"Oh, it was bad. Really bad. You should ask Wynonna about it, if you really want to know about the worst thing that has happened in a vehicle I've been in. This is nothing."

"I'm not sure I want to know now," Nicole grimaces.

Waverly absentmindedly pats Jane and looks out the window, eyes focussed on the distance, slightly glazed. "Probably not. You'll never look at her the same way."

\-----

After wrangling Jane back into her cage for the remainder of the journey, they finally arrive back at Nicole's house. Waverly closes the door behind them and takes her coat off while Nicole carries the cage into the living room.

"Welcome home, Jane," she says, and opens the lid.

For as eager as she was to get out of her prison in the Jeep, she's a lot more reserved in the unfamiliar house. She looks around her for a few long moments, before hopping out and slowly sniffing around nearby. Nicole takes her coat off, throwing it over the arm of the sofa, and sits down on the floor. "What do you think, hey, girl?"

Jane meows, and walks closer to Nicole, allowing her to pat her, before continuing her slow, measured exploration of the immediate area. Waverly joins them, sitting on the floor as well. She reaches out to run her fingers through the ginger fur, which Jane seems to appreciate, though she is far more interested in exploring than snuggles. They wait with her a while, before Nicole remembers _the incident_.

"Oh, I'd better show her where the litter tray is," she says, picking up the cat and carrying her through to the laundry. "Not that you need it after what you did in poor Waverly's car, young lady," she tells the cat loud enough for Waverly to hear and laugh at from the other room. As expected, Jane leaps straight back out of the tray, and darts out of the room, but continues her exploration around there. "Alright then kiddo, I'll leave you to it for now."

"Lunch?" She offers her hand to Waverly, still sitting on the floor watching Jane in the next room. 

Waverly reaches up and takes it, allowing Nicole to pull her upright. "Sure, but pastry first. The next step won't take long."

They dust the pastry mat and rolling pin, and Waverly shows Nicole how to roll out the dough into roughly the right shape, then the folds and re-rolling until the pastry is sort of layered and square, and they set the dough aside to do it's thing.

For lunch they settle on having Nicole's pumpkin soup from the batch she made the night before, and using some of the leftover coconut cream from the pastry mix to make it extra silky. They also make a couple of sandwiches, slathered with hummus, tomato, and cucumber. 

Waverly peers into the fridge, shuffling some of the condiments to see the jars stored in behind them. "Got any pickles?" 

"Oh, no, sorry, I'm all out," Nicole says, trying not to grimace while making a mental note to buy some.

Jane's explorations lead her into the kitchen with them after a little while, and she quickly finds her food and water bowls. Nicole hurries to tip some dry biscuits into her dish for her, which she happily chomps away on, purring for the first time since arriving home. "I see, your preferences are Waverly, then food, then me," Nicole gripes. "Duly noted."

"Aww, look at her," Waverly says, sidling up next to Nicole and wrapping her arm around the taller woman's waist. She leans in, her head resting on her shoulder as Nicole's arm drapes around her. "She's happy she's home. You have a cat!" She squeezes, pulling them together. 

"I have a cat," Nicole confirms.

Waverly lifts her head off Nicole and looks up. "Thank you for sharing today with me. The day you became a little family."

"It wouldn't have been the same without you, Waves. Plus, I'm quite sure Jane considers you part of her family too now." She squeezes her shoulder. "I think you're stuck with us."

A broad smile spreads across Waverly's face, her eyes arch into little moons, and she ducks her head leaning it against Nicole again. This is what it's supposed to feel like, right? Except... it's not real. She and Nicole are not together, they're not a family. Even if it looks like it. She thinks about Barry's comment, assuming they were together, and she knows she should have corrected him, or let Nicole correct him, but... in the moment it felt nice. Nice to let the mistake slide, to let him assume, to believe for a minute that they might... But they're not. They're... they're just friends. And for the first time, the word 'just' stings her.

Waverly pulls away quickly enough that a frowns crinkles Nicole's brow for a moment until the shorter girl's hastily-added bright smile relieves the tension. "Shall we get onto the next step of these bear claws?"

"Oh. Yeah, of course."

Waverly rolls the pastry out while Nicole gathers the filling and frosting ingredients, with a small timeout after Nicole accidentally bumps the cinnamon and a small puff of the spice starts her off sneezing. She retreats upstairs to blow her nose leaving Waverly to potter in the kitchen and finish setting up.

There's a crash in the living room and Waverly goes to investigate.

"Is everything okay down there," Nicole calls from upstairs.

The ginger cat is next to a pile of soil, sniffing it. The pot plant upside down, roots akimbo, and the ceramic pot is mostly intact, although the lip on one side has broken off into a couple of pieces.

"Almost," Waverly replies, "one of your pot plants has taken a nasty fall." She hears footsteps on the stairs behind her and Jane's tail rises as she trots away from the destruction and toward her new human. 

"What have you done, my girl," Nicole says as she strokes the cat in passing. She crouches beside Waverly and picks up the broken pot to inspect it. "It's not too bad, I can glue it back together." She starts scooping some of the soil back in, and Waverly holds the half-flattened fern in place in it while Nicole packs the remaining soil in around it. "We'll have to call you Calamity Jane if you keep this up, cat. Walking disaster."

"Actually although that is what 'calamity' means, people called Calamity Jane that because she was a good person to have around in difficult times."

"Oh, really? Well, it's still a fairly accurate name, then, I suppose." Nicole smiles up at Waverly. "And I should have known you'd be the expert on all things Wild West."

Waverly diverts her eyes, unsure how to respond. She's used to being made to feel guilty when others, usually Champ, remind her of her great amount of knowledge, but Nicole's expression is affectionate. Admiring. Appreciative. It's an unfamiliar feeling to be seen. And exhilarating.

She scrubs the soil from her hands in the sink while Nicole waits her turn to do to the same, and Waverly goes straight back to spreading the filling along the rolled pastry. Nicole tries to find where they're up to in the recipe.

"So should I put the oven on?"

Waverly brings the dough out onto the pastry mat again. "Not yet, they have to rest again after we cut them."

"Again? For what, the third time?"

"Do you have a newfound appreciation for pastries?"

Nicole shakes her head incredulously. "I'll never complain again about how they're more expensive than doughnuts."

"You've actually complained about that?"

"Well no, not out loud. But in my head I've grumbled about it." She laughs to herself. "It's just it's such a cliché, cops eating doughnuts. I guess I wanted to be different, have a different go-to snack, but I resented a little bit that it'd cost me more to do so."

Waverly laughs. "You're a dork." Nicole pokes her bottom lip out in a pout, and Waverly taps her on the tip of her nose with her finger. "An adorable dork, though."

They roll the pastry over the filling and cut it into even pieces. Waverly shows Nicole how to nick along one side of each and splay the 'claws' out, then they cover them with tea towels and Nicole sets an alarm on her phone for 45 minutes to check how they've risen and to turn the oven on. Then they heat up the glaze, stirring it on the stove for a few minutes until it is clear and glassy, and then they leave that to cool.

Deciding to wash the dishes while they wait, despite Nicole's initial protests that Waverly is her guest, Waverly stakes her claim at the sink while Nicole dries and puts things away as they're cleaned and passed to her. The motions feel so normal, the conversation so easy, the task mundane, so normal and every day, and yet seems so different together. Waverly senses Nicole's movements around the kitchen rather than sees them, somehow constantly aware of her proximity like a faint static charge.

She pulls the plug to drain the water when she's done, peeling off the oversized rubber gloves and tucking them back into the cupboard below the sink. Nicole puts away the last plate, and coiling up the tea towel, snaps it lightly at Waverly's butt. "Thanks, wifey," she quips.

A jolt runs through Waverly, hot and cold at the same time, uncomfortable and yet pleasant, and she stills.

Nicole pauses, seeing the look on her friend's face. "Sorry, did that hurt you?"

"N-no," Waverly stutters, "I'm just going to use the bathroom."

"Oh, okay," Nicole accepts the explanation, but remains a little concerned. She follows Waverly out of the kitchen, looking around the living room and laundry as the brunette ascends the stairs. "Can you have a look and see if Jane is upstairs while you're up there?"

Waverly sticks her head into the first room, a small bedroom with a desk at the end, a few envelopes stacked neatly to one side, a closed laptop in the middle. There are a few boxes stacked in a corner, but no sign of a cat. The next room is Nicole's bedroom, and Waverly stands a moment in the doorway, taking it in. The afternoon sun streams in through the blind, drawing shadow lines across the floor, which is clear, no dirty clothes piled in corners or dirty plates yet to be taken to the kitchen. The bed is made, pillows fluffed and a crisp white duvet spread over it. There are actual framed pictures on the wall, not posters, and no gaming console in sight. A few books and knick-knacks sit on the bedside tables and there's a scented candle on top of the dresser, and the room smells sweetly of rose and vanilla like it has been recently lit.

Jane pops out from under the bed, catching Waverly by surprise, and she giggles, which in turn surprises the cat, who obviously hadn't seen her. Jane ducks back under the bed for further investigation.

Waverly pushes away from the door frame back into the hall and calls to Nicole downstairs. "Yeah, she's in your bedroom."

She closes the door into the bathroom, and again takes in how clean and fresh-smelling it is. It hits her how she had once felt neurotic for keeping her apartment as clean or cleaner than Gus kept her house, as though someone her age should be messy, that that was normal. That a bedroom should look lived in, like Champ's, gym-sock-smell and all. It hits her that maybe she wasn't wrong after all. Nicole is a grown-up, and she likes her house to be like this too, she's not neurotic, it's lovely.

It's all lovely, which is so confusing, because she's never felt like this before, not for another woman. She continues to sit on the toilet after peeing, just thinking. Why did she want Barry to think they were a couple? She knows Nicole is gay, is she one of those girls who just wants someone to be attracted to her, just for the confidence boost? Does she actually want to...

She pictures kissing Nicole. Their moment when she sat on the counter the other week, when Nicole had her finger in her mouth, when the thought first popped into her head to grab the taller girl and pull her close and kiss her hard, Nicole's hands sliding up her thighs, hot mouth on her neck. She squeezes her eyes closed then blinks a few times.

She folds the toilet paper and wipes, though she's been sitting there so long she figures she's probably drip-dried anyway, but feels and sees she's wet. Like, _wet_ wet. Her heart beats faster, the physical confirmation of her feelings clear on the paper in her hand. She wipes again and flushes, knowing she has to figure out -- and soon -- whether her feelings are genuine. What if she's just curious? What if she'll lose the first real friend she's made since Chrissy in grade school by toying with her heart. How is she supposed to know she's not just getting off on the idea of being wanted? Desired?

Washing her hands under cold water, she dries them, then presses them to her cheeks, the coolness feeling good against her warm skin. She emerges into the hallway, smoothing down her skirt. Hearing a low voice, she wanders back to Nicole's room, and watches for a few moments as the redhead is sitting half reclined on the bed, talking to Jane and stroking her as she sniffs around the pillows.

"Something tells me you're gonna get cuddles tonight," Waverly says from the doorway. "Her bed downstairs is far less appealing than up here."

Nicole looks over and sits up. "Yeah, maybe." She watches Waverly shift a little uncomfortably a moment. "Um, are you okay, Waves?"

"Yeah," Waverly offers, a nervous half smile painted on her face, "why?"

On the bed, Nicole shrugs. She places her hands atop her knees and looks at them a moment. "I just, I got the feeling I made you uncomfortable with the 'wifey' comment, or snapping the towel at your butt, and I'm sorry."

"No, you didn't make me uncomfortable." Waverly can't help but approach the redhead, and sits on the bed next to her, one leg up and bent so she can face her properly. She reaches for her hand. "At least... at least not in a bad way."

Their fingers lace together. 

Nicole shakes her head slightly, bemused. "Uncomfortable in a good way?"

Waverly sighs. "Kind of." She finally lifts her eyes off their joined hands and is met by Nicole's gentle brown eyes gazing back at her. She wonders why she is even questioning what she feels, and realises she's never questioned herself before, not with guys. She doesn't usually mind when guys flirt with her, when she knows they're attracted to her, but she doesn't usually feel anything back. If she felt like this for a guy she'd not even think twice. So why is she thinking twice?

She surges forward, her hand finding the back of Nicole's neck, pressing their lips together firmly, and her fingers slide through the downy hairs that have fallen loose from her pony tail. Nicole falls backwards onto the bed from the force, the softness of their breasts pressing together, the feel of Nicole's hands on her sides, splayed across her lower ribs, it all feels amazing. The sweet, vanilla scent of her fills her lungs as she breathes her in, her lips part and Nicole's tongue is right there, dancing across her lip, she darts her own out to meet it and feels her hips roll, somehow having ended up straddled across Nicole's lap.

Abruptly, she pushes herself up, staying atop the other woman only a few breaths before swinging her leg back over to sit beside her, facing her, looking down at her beautiful, surprised face.

Nicole lifts herself, propping herself half-up on her elbows. "Wow. So that's what 'uncomfortable in a good way' meant?"

"Yeah," Waverly says, drawing her lower lip between her teeth. "Scared, but, like..."

"I scare you?"

"Yes, you do. In the way that I've always wanted to parachute out of a plane at fifteen-thousand feet, or swim out into the ocean until I can't touch the bottom. I've always wanted to do the things that scare me." Nicole smiles at the unintended implication, and Waverly scrunches her face up. "That sounded better in my head."

"It sounded pretty good to me," Nicole teases.

The affectionate teasing doesn't ease Waverly's tension though, and she continues biting her lip. "I haven't felt this way for anyone in a long time. Maybe ever."

"I feel it too," Nicole confesses, sitting upright and turning to face the brunette. "I really, really like you, Waves."

Waverly surges forward again, bringing their lips together firmly. She strokes Nicole's cheek, her jawline, revelling in the softness. She holds on tighter as Nicole pushes forward, rolling Waverly onto her back, and she clings onto the other woman as her bodyweight settles atop her, and Waverly wraps her legs around the taller woman's waist. She feels on fire as Nicole kisses along her jaw, her neck, before returning to her mouth, her hand sliding up her ribs, her thumb just barely brushing against the side of her breast and Waverly feels her body respond. 

Nicole's other hand slides downwards, resting at her hip a moment, fingertips just grazing the bare skin above the waistband of her skirt, sending a shiver up Waverly's spine. It slides down further, around the back of her thigh, squeezing and pulling her closer, her belly pressing against Waverly's core, adding to the already very pleasant rhythmic pressure that her breathing provides.

Feeling one of Waverly's hands slide down from her face, Nicole arches her back, allowing space between them, and Waverly isn't sure if the soft moan that escapes her is from the feel of Nicole's clothed breast in her palm or the extra pressure that her movement placed on her centre.

Nicole's hand slides further down her leg until the fabric of the skirt runs out and she's touching skin, and the electricity of the connection sends another jolt through the woman underneath, her hips rolling in response. She slides her hand up just a little way, again curling around underneath to bring them closer.

Waverly feels desperate, clinging at the other woman's clothes, her legs wrapping even tighter around her, fingers pressed firmly in the nape of her neck as their lips mould and remould against each other over and over again. Her body is aching to be touched everywhere, to feel her, everywhere. She feels more than hears Nicole grunt, then the hand on her ribs disappears and slides underneath her, and she feels herself lifted up and moved further back onto the bed, the delicious weight of Nicole dropping back onto her, before she pulls back without separating their lips, to climb a little further up over top of Waverly.

The soft, undulating belly that had before been resting between her legs is replaced by a firm thigh, and she feels Nicole roll her own core against her hip as she adjusts their position. The thought of Nicole being as turned on as she is sends her into overdrive, and she slides her hands down to Nicole's ass and rocks her hips up to encourage her on, only to feel the thigh between her own flex and press back. It's enough, and her back arches off the bed, curling her tightly into the body above her as waves of pleasure surge through her. Nicole holds her tightly as she shudders, rocking against her slowly, coaxing her along and drawing out the aftershocks.

Waverly falls back against the bed, pulling Nicole down on top of her. Through the heat already in her cheeks and heavy breathing from the intensity of her orgasm, the reality of what just happened begins to set in. She covers her face with her hand. "Oh my god."

"'Oh my god' is right," Nicole murmurs into her neck, planting more gentle kisses.

"That... that happened really fast," Waverly says quietly, "I didn't... I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Nicole pushes herself up to look down at Waverly, and resting her weight on one arm, curls her fingers around Waverly's wrist, providing just enough pressure to indicate her request for Waverly to uncover her face without forcing her to. She relents, and meets Nicole's eyes and warm expression. "Baby, don't be sorry, that was the hottest thing ever."

Waverly blushes, a relieved smile curling at the corners of her lips. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. So hot, you have no idea."

"Maybe I'd like to, though," Waverly says, her hazel eyes darkening. She reaches a hand between them, sliding down Nicole's belly and further, cupping her core. She can feel the heat coming from the other woman's, and if she's not mistaken, a slight dampness through her trousers.

Nicole lifts herself up and rolls to the side. Waverly holds on and rolls with her, until they're both on their sides. Her fingers slip around the buckle of Nicole's belt, and she feels warm hands cover her own. "Whoa, whoa. Wait. Waverly, wait." She breathes for a moment, staring at the ceiling, then turns back to the brunette, looking intently into her eyes. "Are you sure? You don't have to, just because... because you..." 

Her utter decency, and care and concern touches Waverly on a level deep inside. The awareness of the potential for her to feel obliged, and the willingness of Nicole to sacrifice her own short-term satisfaction to ensure Waverly is truly ready only endears the officer to her even more, and causes her to feel even more comfortable diving into the unknown. Well, sort-of unknown. She knows herself well enough, how hard can it be? "Nicole, how can you tell me how hot that was and not expect me to want to find out for myself? To see you... to feel you..."

She slides her hand under Nicole's shirt, tugging the tanktop underneath out of her waistband until her palm is flush against the soft skin of Nicole's stomach. The redhead groans and reaches for Waverly's hip, rolling her towards her, Waverly's thigh sliding forward against her on instinct.

There's a clattering behind her, and Nicole twists away to look, Waverly's line of sight joining hers. Jane sits on the bedside table, watching them with a remarkably judgemental expression for a cat. A picture frame lies upside down on the floor.

"Did she just..."

The cat blinks slowly and looks down at a small, multi-coloured rock that also sits on the table. She reaches out with a paw and bats it twice, then firmly sweeps it onto the floor. She looks back at the pair smugly.

"Yes, she did."

Waverly giggles and sits up. "Has she been sitting there watching us this whole time?"

"I think my cat might be a pervert." She squints her eyes at the cat. "Ever heard of privacy, Jane?"

Jane hops off the table and saunters out the door, and they can hear her thumping down the stairs like the chunky little nugget she is.

Nicole lays back on the bed, chuckling. Downstairs her alarm goes off, indicating time to check the bear claws, and she groans.

"Fuck the claws," Waverly says, snuggling up to Nicole's side, pressing kisses to her jawline. The redhead's arm wraps around her shoulders, holding her close. She turns, their lips meet again, but somewhere on the floor below Jane starts meowing.

Her groan is much more desperate this time and she rolls into Waverly, hugging her tightly and laughing at the combined sounds of the cat and alarm downstairs. "Maybe we should put a pin in this." Her thumb absent-mindedly rubs Waverly's thigh, and after a moment she frowns. Sitting up, she slides her skirt up just far enough to see the spot under her thumb, where the skin is slightly scratched and raised. "Is that from Jane kneading you earlier?"

Waverly looks down at the area. "Yeah, I think so."

"Poor baby," Nicole says, and kisses it, pressing her lips briefly but firmly to it before standing up and holding out a hand to pull Waverly up off the bed as well. She draws her into a hug, and kisses the top of her head, before there's another thump from downstairs of the cat getting into something. "I'd better go see--"

"Yeah," Waverly agrees. She feels a little overwhelmed and welcomes the break to gather herself together as Nicole goes downstairs to see to Jane and turn the oven on, while Waverly goes to the bathroom again. That Nicole would kiss her scratched thigh with such tenderness, without feeling that care and comfort was necessarily to become sexual...

She splashes water on her face and leans on the bathroom counter, staring at her reflection in the mirror. There's no denying what she feels for Nicole, and she can't, now, fathom why she ever doubted herself. Her lips are pink and kiss-swollen, and even she can see a sparkle in her own eyes that wasn't there before. Thoughts cross her mind, what to tell people, what they will think, and she finds herself with little care for it all. The idea that anyone else can take the joy of this away from her, she rejects it outright. They had better not dare try to. The only people's opinions she finds herself caring about are Wynonna's, Gus', and Chrissy's. And Sheriff Nedley's, she supposes, since he has always been a semi-paternal figure in her life and is now Nicole's boss, but she presumes he knows Nicole is gay and is okay with her so why wouldn't he be okay with them as a couple?

A couple. Are they a couple? They hadn't discussed baking anything after the bear claws, they hadn't really done anything together outside baking. Well, other than getting Jane. And having dinner. Waverly relaxes a little, okay, so they've done some things together.

She thinks about what they just did together. She hasn't felt that intensely since sex was all new to her and her teenage-hormone-ridden body had been dying for stimulation. But it had never been like that before, ever. God, they had barely done anything more than kiss and she'd cum. Hard. How the hell was she going to cope with seeing Nicole in all her glory, and at the thought of them being naked together, snuggled in that bed under that fluffy white duvet, she sucks in a deep breath. _Stop thinking about it_ , she tells herself. _There's time for that later._

She returns to the kitchen just as Nicole is brushing the tops of the bear claws with the cornstarch mixture. Waverly wraps her arms around her middle, planting a kiss in between her shoulder blades.

"There you are," Nicole jokes, "I was just about to send up a search party."

Waverly relaxes her grasp, allowing the taller woman to turn around, her long arms draping around her shoulders. "No need, I'm right here."

Nicole grins and leans down, smiling into a kiss. "Yes you are."

They hear a faint tick as the light on the oven goes out, indicating it has reached the desired temperature. Released from Waverly's grasp, Nicole bends to put them in the oven, only to feel a hand slide over her ass.

"Oh, it's like that, is it?"

Waverly grins, allowing Nicole to turn again, only this time she lifts her and sits her on the edge of the tabletop. They deepen the kiss, Waverly nibbling at Nicole's lower lip. 

Jane meows.

Pulling back a little and pressing their foreheads together, Nicole mutters "Jesus Christ" under her breath.

"What is the lesbian equivalent of a cock block?"

"A clam jam? Clitorference? A beaver dam?"

Waverly giggles. "That's what she is. You adopted your very own clam jam. When he said she doesn't like other cats maybe he knew somehow she'd park up on your bed and block all other pussies from entering."

Nicole pulls away and grins. "Check this out," she says, retreating into the living room. Waverly pushes herself off the table and follows, and grins as Nicole holds up a padded square. "A heated bed," she slides her fingers along the cord coming out of the corner of the foam square. "I wanted her to have somewhere cosy to sleep when I'm at work, especially if I'm on night shift."

Waverly raises her eyebrows. "Oh, so you're hoping she'll sleep on that and I'll be the one snuggling in your bed tonight?"

Nicole's expression freezes. "Oh, uhh, I just meant I intend for her to sleep on her own bed, not mine, but, umm..."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to presume," Waverly says, her body stiffening.

Nicole places the bed back down on the corner chair where she had lifted it from. "No, I, umm... that does sound like... I mean, if you want to." She exhales to relieve tension and smiles. "I would love that any time, but it doesn't have to be tonight, of course."

Waverly nibbles her lower lip and grins. "I'd like that too." Nicole approaches her a little apprehensively, so Waverly makes a show of looping her arms around the taller woman's neck as hers loop around her waist. "In fact," she says softly into Nicole's ear, "I don't know if I can wait until tonight."

\-----

Wynonna calls just after the bear claws come out of the oven, their tops browned and cinnamon small wafting through the small house. Waverly wanders out into the living room to answer it.

"Hey Waves. You home for dinner? Should I get take-out, or is only one of us dining in tonight, eh? Get it?"

When did her sister get so blatant about... whatever this is? Waverly hesitates, then ducks around the corner into the foyer. "I think we both might be eating out tonight, Wy." She feels strange being so crude, but she knows her sister, she knows a casual, off-handed comment might be easier than a full-on heart to heart, at least initially.

"Ew," there's a shocked silence on the end of the line, before "wait, seriously?" 

"Yeah, umm, is that... is that a problem?" 

"No. No, Waves, it's... I mean, I was just teasing but that's... that's cool." She snickers. "We both know the golden retriever puppy thing isn't my style but ya gotta admit it, Haught-sauce is hot. Get it, girl."

Waverly grins, relief lifting a weight off her shoulders. "Don't wait up." 

"Bleurgh. Okay. But you two better have actually made those bear claws before you got all..." Waverly can picture her sister making some rude hand gesture.

"We did, don't worry."

"Okay, good. See you tomorrow, then?"

"Will do."

"Bring bear claws," her sister yells before ending the call.

Nicole sticks her head around the corner."Everything okay?"

Waverly tucks her phone into her coat pocket where it hangs on the rack nearby. "Yeah, it was just Wynonna wanting to know if I was home for dinner."

"Oh, and..?"

"I told her no, and not to wait up... I mean, if... if that's...."

"Yeah, yeah that's fine with me." Nicole reaches out, hooks a finger into Waverly's hand and draws her in. "If it's fine with you. And her, I suppose. She doesn't have a problem with us?"

Waverly playfully smacks Nicole's chest, while stepping in closer at the same time. "Why Nicole, are you scared of my sister?" 

"No. No..." Nicole says, interlocking her fingers in the small of Waverly's back. "Just want to make sure that she's okay, so I know you're okay. I wouldn't want her issue to come between us."

Waverly draws a line down the front of Nicole's shirt. "Oh, sweetie, the only thing coming between us -- tonight at least -- is us."

\-----

Wynonna thumps on the door again, for the third time, the brisk morning air biting at her exposed skin, her lack of caffeine and doughnuts in her stomach becoming more obvious as her patience wears thin.

Finally the door opens, and she rolls her eyes at the sight of her baby sister wearing apparently an oversized sheriff's deputy shirt over a skirt, feet bare on the cold floor. 

"Gross," she says, pushing her way inside and out of the cold, "why are you wearing her shirt, and where's my breakfast?"

"I couldn't find it. What are you doing here," Waverly quizzes, pulling the thin material tighter around her, following the older brunette into the kitchen, "it's like seven a.m."

"What are you doing answering the door? Where's Haught-potato?" She picks up a bear claw from a plate and bites into it, grunting with satisfaction. "You kill her with--" she makes an obscene gesture "kindness or what?"

Waverly rolls her eyes. "We saw your truck out the window. She's getting dressed, she'll be down in a sec."

"Yuck," Wynonna says, shoving another mouthful of pastry in her gob.

"They're not even iced, Wynonna."

Wynonna shrugs. "I'm hungry. Red got any coffee?"

"Why are you here?" Waverly switches the kettle on and fills the coffee filter jug. She takes a lid off a small container on the counter and stirs it with a spoon. Reaching for Wynonna's bear claw, she holds it back over the plate and drizzles some of the icing over it, then sprinkles some flaked almonds on top.

Wynonna moans when she takes a bite. "Oh yeah, that's better. Dolls wants to see you."

"Good morning Wynonna," Nicole says, stepping into the kitchen.

The older brunette chews her overloaded mouthful and eyes the deputy. "Red."

Waverly draws attention away from the somewhat tense exchange. "Dolls wants to see me?"

Wynonna grunts again before talking through another mouthful. "Yeah. Something important, needs your dead languages expertise. Your phone is dead so I figured I'd come get you on my way in." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a pair of underwear, cotton and floral. "I figured you'd need these, too."

Waverly snatches them out of her snickering sister's hand. "God damnit, Wynonna. Couldn't you have brought some of my nice ones?"

"Get dressed, baby girl."

Waverly sighs, and brushing past Nicole with a kiss to her bicep and squeeze of her forearm, she jogs up the stairs as Nicole fondly watches her go.

"Easy, ginger," Wynonna says, causing Nicole to remember her presence and spin around. Wynonna drags a seat out from the table and plops herself into it, dragging another out for her feet to rest on. 

Nicole takes up the coffee-making from where Waverly left off, and pours two cups. "How do you have it?"

"Two sugars, with a side of another bear claw. Ahh!" Jane stands on Wynonna's lap, having jumped up on her sneakily from under the table. "So this is the infamous new cat. Hello," she says, eyeing the cat suspiciously. Jane watches her back, then climbs from her lap onto the table, while Nicole isn't looking. She wanders over to where a few ingredients used the day before still remain. She sniffs them, snuffling and shaking her head at the cinnamon before batting it off the table onto the floor. Nicole turns suddenly at the sound and Wynonna snickers. Jane merely turns to look directly at Nicole and sits.

"Why you little... get down from there!" Jane licks her paw and resumes staring at the redhead as she approaches to lift her off the table onto the floor. "Clumsy little monster." 

"Oh no," Wynonna shakes her head, "that was not clumsy. That was intentional." Wynonna laughs. "I like this cat, she enjoys messing with you as much as I do."

Nicole resumes drizzling icing and almond flakes over the bear claw and serves it up to Wynonna with her coffee. She finds herself unusually nervous about whether she has made it to her liking.

"You gonna take a chill pill, Red? You look like you're about to birth a litter of puppies or some shit."

Nicole takes her coffee and rounds the table to sit opposite Wynonna.

"Got something to say?"

Nicole bites her lip. "I just... I guess I want to make sure you're okay with--" she gestures upstairs "--us?"

Wynonna sighs and places the half-eaten second bear claw directly onto the table top. "Do you actually think I would have a problem with it?" Nicole opens her mouth but doesn't know what to say. "Waves is her own woman, she doesn't need my approval or permission for anything. And I don't care that you're both women, if that's what you're worried about. Actually I'm kind of offended if that is what you were worried about."

"No, well, mostly not."

"Good, because my baby sister is a perfect angel, however God made her, and hey it's not like I've never flirted with the dark side before."

Nicole raises an eyebrow. "Does Waverly know that?"

"Pffft, no. Well, not exactly. Maybe I said a few things about you being hot just to see if she'd take the bait. I kinda thought there might be something going on here. Turns out I was right. Again." She takes another big bite of pastry, chewing proudly.

Nicole snorts. "You think I'm hot?"

Wynonna coughs. "Don't go getting any ideas, Fanta Pants." She finishes chewing and swallows. "Look, as long as you're less of a douchebag than Hardy, you're a step up." She rolls her eyes. "You seem like too much of a goody-two-shoes for that, but if you hurt her I can promise you that Nedley and his troupe of idiot minions will never find your body. Got it?"

Waverly chooses that moment to come bounding down the stairs. "What did I miss?"

"Just me threatening the life of your new beau," Wynonna says casually, standing up. "Ready to roll?"

Waverly smacks her sister's arm hard enough to make her wince, then turns and kisses Nicole firmly on the lips.

"You bringing the rest of those claws in later, Haught?"

Nicole pecks Waverly's lips one more time then looks over at her sister. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. My shift starts at twelve."

"Alright, see you then," she says, heading for the door. "Come on, kid!"

Nicole follows Waverly to the door and helps her with her coat before being pulled down into one final kiss goodbye. "Thank you for last night, and this morning," she grins. "See you later."

"See you later, baby," Nicole says, standing at the door in her haphazardly thrown on jeans and sweater, watching her girl climb into her Jeep and the two vehicles pull out onto the street. They wave before they lose sight of each other, and she closes the door with a sigh.

At her feet, Jane meows.

"Alright, old girl. Let's get you some breakfast."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This recipe was taken down from it's site for some reason, but thanks to web archives it can still be found: [Vegan Bear Claws](https://web.archive.org/web/20170719150419/http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/2012/02/vegan-bear-claws-laura-palmer/)
> 
> (and yes, Barry is basically a version of Glen from Letterkenny)
> 
> Thanks for reading all the way to the end, and for all your lovely comments along the way!


End file.
